|
Health Disparities Statistics
CANCER
GOAL
Reduce the number of new cancer cases as well as the illness, disability, and death
caused by cancer.
OVERVIEW
Cancer is a chronic disease that is the second leading cause of death in both the United
States and the Virgin Islands. The Cancer Facts and Figures 2003 from the American
Cancer Society states, that “cancer accounts for one in every five deaths in the United
States, and one in every three Americans alive today will eventually develop cancer.”
The mortality data in the Virgin Islands mirror national trends, with Breast and Prostate
cancers being the most common for female and male deaths due to cancer.
ISSUES AND TRENDS
The Virgin Islands faces challenges in the equitable distribution of health care services
due to geographic barriers (the four islands), economic restraints, language and
cultural/ethnic barriers and other challenges. Cancer has always been the chronic
disease that provokes a great deal of interest in the islands. The 2000 Population and
Housing Survey reports that the U.S. Virgin Islands racial breakdown of the resident
population consists of 76.2% Black, 13.1% White, 14.0% Hispanic or Latino and 5.7%
other. Of the total population, 51,864 are male and 56,748 are women. Children and
adolescents ages birth to 19 years, account for slightly over 33% of the total population.
For the past two years prostate cancer has been the highest incidence of cancer in
men. In women, breast and cervical cancer has been the leading causes of cancer
related deaths.
Mortality statistics for the last thirty plus years justified the need for a central cancer
registry in the Virgin Islands. Cancer was and is still the second leading cause of death
in the territory. Statistics from the V.I. Bureau of Vital Statistics indicate that breast and
cervical cancers were the leading causes of death in women and prostate cancer in
men. These statistics clearly indicate a desperate need for more aggressive efforts
towards cancer incidence, prevention and control in the territory. Continued
enhancement of the Central Cancer Registry is an essential component in working
towards these efforts. The data that has been collected by the Cancer Registry and
future data to be obtained will be accessed and disseminated through formal reports.
Mammography, in conjunction with clinical breast exam, has significantly increased the
rate of early detection of breast cancer. The American Cancer Society (ACS)
recommends clinical breast examination for women 20 to 39 years old, a baseline
mammogram at age 40, a mammogram every two years for women in their forties, and
an annual mammogram for women ages 50 and older. Although recent data on
mortality rates from breast cancer for Virgin Islands women are unavailable, the last
available data reported in 1997 showed that the crude death rate was 16.5 per 100,000
women by the V.I. Bureau of Health Statistics. The following graphs reflect statistical
results from the 1999 Behavioral Risk Factor Survey on Breast Cancer Screening.
Age 40 and older who had a clinical breast exam and a mammogram
- Fifty-seven percent of women 40 years and older reported ever receiving both a
mammogram and clinical breast exam. Forty-five percent had a mammogram
and breast exam within the past two years.
- While 73 percent of White women aged 40 and older received a mammogram
and breast exam, only 55 percent and 54 percent of Black and Hispanic women,
respectively, had ever had both tests.
- Women in the lower income groups were less likely to have ever had a
mammogram and breast exam. About 53 percent of women 40 and older with
household incomes under $25,000 had a mammogram and breast exam.
Comparatively, 85 percent of women with household incomes of $50,000 and
over received breast cancer screening.
- The more education a woman had, the more likely she was to be screened for
breast cancer. Only 50 percent of women who did not graduate from high
school, and 56 percent of those who were high school graduates ever had a
mammogram and breast exam compared to 79 percent of college graduates.
Women aged 50 and older who had a clinical breast exam and a
mammogram in past two years
- Forty-five percent of women 50 years and older received both a mammogram
and breast exam within the preceding two years. Those most likely to have had
a recent screening were between 50 and 59 years.
- While 54 percent of women in this age group on St. Croix received a
mammogram and breast exam, 38 percent of women on St. Thomas and only
16 percent of women on St. John received both exams.
TREND
The proportion of Virgin Islands women 18 years and older who have ever had a breast
exam has declined over the years, from 82 percent in 1991 to 69 percent in 1997. No
data on breast exam were available for 1999. Women 40 years and older who have
ever received a mammogram fell from 49 percent in 1991 to 36 percent in 1994. In
1995 and 1997 the prevalence grew to 61 percent and 62 percent, respectively. In
1999, it reached 68 percent. The proportion of women 40 years and older who ever
received a mammogram and breast exam increased from 32 percent in 1994 to 53 in
1995, but fell to 50 percent in 1997 and grew to 57 percent in 1999. The year 2000
target was 80 percent. For those women 50 years and older who received
mammograms in the preceding two years, the proportion has increased substantially
from 24 percent in 1994 to 57 percent in 1999, although slightly lower than the year
2000 target of 60 percent. Although there has been some improvement in the rate of
screening, a large number of Virgin Islands women aged 40 and older are not receiving
appropriate breast cancer screening.
Source: United States Virgin Islands Healthy Virgin Islands 2010
|
