The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2013) defines cancer clusters as a larger than anticipated amount of similar cancer cases arising at a given time among members of a defined community. Cancer clusters present many challenges due to the complexity of the analytic process and the abundance of inquiries and concerns. Because the research and studies of cancer clusters in the United States have uncovered few conclusive determinants, many states are hesitant in dedicating excess resources and money to the meticulous processes. Seeing the issue of discovering potential environmental hazards as a priority, Maryland is employing a specifically appointed workgroup to process all community concerns to enforce serious deliberation and thorough investigation of questioned cluster sites around the state (Department of Legislative Services, Office of Information Systems [DLSOIS], 2013).
With increasing rates of cancer emerging within communities throughout the United States, the CDC announced guidelines for examining clusters of health incidents in the 1990s (Kingsley, Schmeichel, & Rubin, 2007). These guidelines were not disease-specific or heavily enforced, but served as a template for state, local, and community health departments to expand and improve protocols for inspecting alleged cancer clusters (CDC, 2013). According to the CDC’s 1990 Guidelines, a four-step approach was adapted for observing questionable clusters: “initial response, assessment, major feasibility study, and etiologic investigation” (2013).
Throughout the United States, community concern regarding potential cancer clusters is relatively high, with over 1,100 annual inquiries to each state’s health department (Trumbo, McComas, & Besley, 2008). Acco...
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...about cancer clusters. Retrieved from Maryland Cancer Registry website: http://phpa.dhmh.maryland.gov/cancer/Documents/Questions and Answers About Cancer Clusters.pdf
Penberthy, L., Gillam, C., Ginde, G., Mcclish, D., Peace, S., Gray, L., . . . Radhakrishnan, S. (2012). Hematologic malignancies: An opportunity to fill a gap in cancer surveillance. Cancer Causes and Control, 23(8), 1253-1264. doi:10.1007/s10552-012-0003-1
Trumbo, C. W., McComas, K. A., & Besley, J. C. (2008). Individual- and community-level effects on risk perception in cancer cluster investigations. Risk Analysis, 28(1), 161-178. doi:10.1111/j.1539-6924.2008.01007.x
Yang, M. (2011). A current global view of environmental and occupational cancers. Journal Of Environmental Science And Health. Part C, Environmental Carcinogenesis & Ecotoxicology Reviews, 29(3), 223-249. doi:10.1080/10590501.2011.601848
I think the chapter that helps to support her main point the most is chapter four titled “Space.” In this chapter, she discussed a great deal about the geographic distribution of cancer as well as the environment of the people who are more likely to get cancer. This includes: job type, living location, and living surroundings. To expand on each, she states that workers with
In Camden, New Jersey, Dr. Jeffrey Brenner is pioneering efforts to improve healthcare delivery through medical “hotspotting” (Doctor Hotspot, 2011), the geographical mapping of patient healthcare costs using computational statistics (Gawande, 2011). Medical hotspotting enables communities to identify residents receiving the worst health care by identifying hotspots of high medical costs and frequent emergency room visits (Gawande, 2011). As with all macro level change, Dr. Brenner pursued his goal of improving health care through a process of planning. His process closely follows the IMAGINE Model outlined by Kirst-Ashman and Hull (2012).
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) has impacted the world nationally and internationally for their involvement and work with cancer, science, research, and medicine. A goal of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) is through extensive research and training explore new ways to treat, cure, and control cancer on a national and worldwide level. Scientist and Researchers affiliated with MSKCC take their knowledge, investigation, and research to create clinical trials, studies and new treatments for cancer nationally and worldwide which create various economic opportunities throughout the nation and world.
In March of this year I attended a cancer lecture mandated by my Volunteer Fire Department by Oncologist Kenneth R. Kunz, M.D., Ph.D. According to Kunz cancer is a natural part of life and if you live long enough you will inevitably develop some form of the disease. Kunz also stated that the cancer rate of firefighters involved with the 9/11 emergency response was noticeably higher than that of other firefighters. This is supported in a study funded by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (The Lancet). According to this research the events of 9/11 created a disaster area that resulted in occupational exposure to known carcinogens for 12,500 first responders. The study consisted of 9853 Wor...
The two logic models utilized were Precede-Proceed model and MAPP (Mobilizing for Action through Planning and Partnerships). The qualitative data methods used for the data collection were- researching the national, state, and local databases; reviewing the previously conducted county health assessments and reports; interviewing key stakeholders in the
meeting: An indispensable aid to communication between different specialities. European Journal Of Cancer, 42(15), 2459-2462. doi: 10.1016/j.ejca.2006.03.034
Unknown. "What Is Cancer? - National Cancer Institute." Cancer.gov, 2014. Web. 13 Jan 2014. .
...al Cancer Institute." National Cancer Institute - Comprehensive Cancer Information. Web. 19 Oct. 2009. .
Cancer.gov. (2014). Comprehensive Cancer Information - National Cancer Institute. [online] Retrieved from: http://www.cancer.gov/ [Accessed: 7 Apr 2014].
...per cubic meter of air, they found. While people who smoke may also live in more polluted areas, the large group of the studies showed that even so, pollution can raise even a non-smoker’s risk of cancer.
According to the National Cancer Institute, cancer health disparities are defined as the adverse differences between specific populations and the achievement of an optimal state of health. These population groups are categorized by geographic location, income, disability, age, education, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or race. These factors correlate with cancer mortality rates that impact specific population groups in the United States, cancer prevalence is the number of people diagnosed or living with cancer, and cancer incidence which is the number of new cancer cases in a population. According to the American Cancer Society, in 2013, there were an estimated 1,660,290 new cases of cancer and 580,350 of the new cases resulted in mortality. Individuals who have limited access to healthcare, health illiterate, and poverty stricken are more likely to develop cancer. This means a person’s socioeconomic status can determine the likelihood of their probability of developing cancer
While women in this region continue to be diagnosed with breast cancer at an alarming rate, it is only normal for residence to want answers. Many years of research have found a couple of possibilities for this tragic problem. According to researchers at Silent Springs Institute in Newton Massachusetts, a possible reason behind the high cancer rates is the use of pesticides in marshes, cranberry bogs, golf courses and residential areas. Researchers are also looking into the possibility that synthetic chemicals found in common household products are to blame. Cheryl Osimo, Silent Springs Cape Cod coordinator, called the study's discoveries an important step.
Sabogal, R (2010) Global Environmental Health : Sustainability. Journal of Environmental Health, 73 (3) p26-28.
...evention: Implications for the 21st Century.” Cancer Causes and Control. Vol. 18, No. 2 (2007). 118.