Poverty as Carcinogen?

The American Cancer Society released a report earlier this month that covers, among other things, the role of socioeconomic disparities in cancer mortality rates. It's a companion to their annual report called Cancer Facts & Figures 2011. It names the well-documented contributors to individual cancer risk like smoking and obesity that we've all heard about, but it also outlines the link between socioeconomic status and cancer deaths.

The good news is that the report shows a decrease in the rate of cancer deaths between 1990 and 2007; 22% in men and 14% in women. This means that over that 17 year span 898,000 people didn't die of cancer that would have in years prior.

The bad news, however, is how that survival is spread across the population. Or, more accurately, how it is not. According to the report, death rates in persons with lower socioeconomic status (defined by education, occupation or residence) showed little or no decrease. In fact, there were increases in their cancer deaths in some instances. The evidence shows a continually widening gap in mortality rates between advantaged and disadvantaged segments of the US population. For example: in 1993, in men aged 25-64 (both black and white populations), the cancer death rate was twice as high as the least educated compared to the most educated. By 2007, this disparity had increased to a nearly three-fold difference.

So, what does this mean?? The good news of lower rates of cancer deaths overall shows that research being done every day to find better treatment options is proving successful in the fight against the disease. There is also a direct link to the community education being provided across the country by organizations like Hope Cancer Resources. More screenings are being done, more preventative measures are being taken, and more cancers are being caught in earlier stages. But, the numbers show (on page 25 of the report) that those preventative measures and screenings are being utilized primarily among the educated and those residing in the higher levels of economic comfort.

According to the US Census Bureau, more than 50.7 million Americans were uninsured in 2009. Those people have limited access to health care, and that limited access affects every part of the cancer contiuum: prevention, early diagnosis, treatment, and palliative care. If there is a cancer diagnosis, it is more likely to be made in an advanced stage of the disease and the patient is less likely to have been partaking of healthy lifestyle habits prior to their diagnosis. Consider the observation that there are usually more fast-food restaurants and fewer safe public parks and walking trails in communities that are economically challenged than in those with higher per-capita incomes.

To bear this point out, a study done by the American Cancer Society showed that uninsured or Medicaid-insured patients diagnosed with early state colorectal cancer were less likely to survive five years than privately insured patients diagnosed with a more advanced stage of the disease. This disparity likely reflects the unequal treatment that results from living with limited healthcare access, generally poorer underlying health (also associated with lack of preventative care and absence of healthy activity and food choices), and physical barriers to care, such as transportation to health facilities, that are commonly experienced by non-privately insured patients.

Over the past 30 years, the American Cancer Society has issued a number of special reports on cancer disparities which concluded that poverty is the primary contributing factor to cancer disparities between racial and ethnic groups... and that people living in poverty lack access to health care and endure greater pain and suffering from cancer.

At Hope Cancer Resources we are not able to affect a cure for cancer, nor do we lobby for better healthcare coverage for Americans. But we do provide the community education and free screenings that are so desperately needed if we are to keep seeing a reduction of mortality rates. We provide financial assistance through our Save-A-Life program to people needing tests and procedures they can't afford and we don't offer. We also help reduce obstacles encountered by many of our neighbors by providing financial assistance when a household income is severely affected by a cancer diagnosis, or when transportation to and from treatments is needed. Our mission, to provide compassionate, professional cancer support and education in the Northwest Arkansas region today and tomorrow holds true for everyone in our community, regardless of their socioeconomic status.

We are on the front lines of the battle against cancer in Northwest Arkansas, and we always welcome the support of additional warriors! Join us as a volunteer, or make a donation today.

Your support makes a difference, and we can't do it without you.

Couple of Things

Part of our planning for the year involves finding new ways to raise awareness and donations. We love receiving financial gifts from new and repeat donors, as every non-profit organization does, but the focus we place on our mission and vision means that making people aware of our organziation and the services we provide is just as important. Indeed, it is more so.

We are doing a few things this summer to try to accomplish both of these goals...

Earlier this month we placed clear acrylic boxes in Eureka Pizza locations around Northwest Arkansas and in Fort Smith. The boxes don't feature a lot of information specifically describing our services due to space restrictions, but our website and social media links are listed. We hope to see an upswing in the visits to our site over the next few months as a result. The more people who visit our site, the more people we are potentially helping with our programs or information on cancer prevention. Of course, receiving some small donations would be wonderful too.

Throughout the month of July we will be hosted by Cafe Delta Soul as they partner with us for a promotion. Every Tuesday night they will donate 10% of their dinner sales and allow us to share a little information with their patrons. If you haven't visited Cafe Delta Soul yet, this is the perfect opportunity! They serve down-home-delicious Southern cooking like you wish your momma used to make. Catfish, ribs, creole specialties... all washed down with drinks in mason jars and served by some of the friendliest staff in town. Come see us and bring your friends!

Finally, we want to send out a big THANK YOU to J.B. Hunt Transportation for the "Jeans Day" fundraiser they organized for us! One of the ways we're trying to get our name and list of services out there is to partner with companies to do fundraisers or educational programs with their employees. We have two certified health educators on our staff who can bring information on a wide range of topics relating to cancer prevention and visit with
staff to let them know what they can do to be healthy and informed. In addition, we have information available about screening programs we hold throughout the year, local support groups and our patient assistance programs. We also have a Spanish interpreter on staff to assist with communication with Spanish-speaking employees. If your company would be interested in finding out more about these educational programs please contact Sandy Prince, MS, CHES, our V.P. of Cancer Education and Prevention or Casey Shelor, MS, CHES, our Cancer Education Coordinator.

Thank you, Northwest Arkansas, for everything you are doing to support us. We hope to see you soon!!

What is a Sarcoma?

A sarcoma is a type of cancer that develops from certain tissues, like bone or muscle. There are 2 main types of sarcomas: bone sarcomas and soft tissue sarcomas. Soft tissue sarcomas can develop from soft tissues like fat, muscle, nerves, fibrous tissues, blood vessels, or deep skin tissues. Although they can be found in any part of the body, most of them - about 60 percent - develop in the arms, hands, feet or legs. They can also be found in the trunk, head and neck area, internal organs, and the area in back of the abdominal cavity. Sarcomas are not common tumors. Only about 10,000 soft tissue sarcomas are diagnosed annually in the United States.

On the American Cancer Society's webpage about sarcomas there are no fewer than forty kinds of sarcomas listed. For that reason, we will not try to list them all here, but instead suggest that if you are truly interested in that many different kinds of sarcomas, you can take a look at their list. We don't mind.

A soft tissue sarcoma usually produces no signs and symptoms in its early stages. As the tumor grows, it may cause:

• A noticeable lump or swelling
• Pain, if it presses on nerves or muscles
• A blockage in the stomach or intestines or gastrointestinal bleeding if the tumor is located in the abdomen or digestive tract

Generally, the cause of most soft tissue sarcomas is unknown. One of the few soft tissue sarcomas that has a known cause is Kaposi's sarcoma. It occurs in people with defective immune systems and is caused by a virus known as human herpes virus 8 (HHV8). Some types of sarcomas are believed to be hereditary. You can see this list here.

Talk to your doctor if you discover a lump that persists or if you notice signs or symptoms that may indicate a soft tissue sarcoma, such as worsening abdominal pain or blood in your stool. 

Information for this post was gathered from the Mayo Clinic website and the American Cancer Society's page about sarcoma.

Cancer Survivorship

As we keep an eye on the information being disseminated on the web and in the news about cancer and its associated topics, a thread we see often implies that not enough money is being spent to "cure cancer". There are so many fundraising runs, bike rides, walks, vigils, restaurant promotions, etc... but people are still dying. When you are watching your loved ones battle cancer, it's hard to understand the progress that has been made. But there has been progress.

According to a report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the number of cancer survivors in the United States increased to 11.7 million in 2007. To put that in perspective - consider the fact that there were 3 million cancer survivors in 1971 and 9.8 million in 2001. Great news! Regardless of whether or not a cure has been found, the numbers tell us that the treatments that are being tested in clinical trials around the world are finding drugs and therapies that are saving lives.

More good news that accompanies those numbers... Study findings indicate:

• Breast cancer survivors are the largest group of cancer survivors (22 percent), followed by prostate cancer survivors (19 percent) and colorectal cancer survivors (10 percent).
• Among all survivors, 4.7 million received their diagnosis 10 or more years earlier.

What this information tells us is that those screenings we keep encouraging you to have are working. And not only are people surviving - they're surviving longer. We've said it all along - but that's the proof in black and white. Screenings save lives.

Of course, more survivors mean an increasing need for support for after the battle. Survivors often deal with long-lasting effects of their treatments that can be uncomfortable, annoying, or down-right debilitating. When a patient and their family is in the middle of their treatment, it's hard to think past what they are doing right then, so the work that comes after - staying healthy, recovering and maintaining pre-cancer activity levels, and learning to accept the limitations that they may have to live with - is often nothing they want to discuss or even consider.

Support groups and information focused on survivorship are in demand more and more by patients and their families. We work to meet that demand in the support groups we facilitate and also with our licensed Social Workers on staff. They work with individuals to determine specific emotional needs, and find sources of information and support to make sure that transitioning into the new life post-cancer treatment is as smooth as possible. If you or someone you know needs some assistance and information about being a cancer survivor please contact us at 479-361-5847.

More information about cancer survivorship can be found on these websites:
Support groups in Northwest Arkansas can be found on our website here.
National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has information, podcasts, and even the ability to send an e-card here.
The National Cancer Institute lots of information grouped by survivorship topic here and a long list of publications and resources here.

Some of the information in this posting was found in this press release on the National Cancer Institute website.