A report released yesterday, August 9, by northcarolinahealthnews.org has identified several “hotspots” for cancer fatality rates among North Carolina’s 100 counties, according to an article on the website. These areas include large swaths of the northeastern and coastal regions of the state, in addition to pockets around Durham and several counties in the south central portion of North Carolina, where cancer mortality rates exceed 193 people per 100,000 residents.
Overall, North Carolina largely mirrors the national average, at 167.7 deaths per 100,000 people. In Western North Carolina, cancer mortality rates are largely on the lower scale of the spectrum, according to data collected by UNC-Chapel Hill researchers. Buncombe, for example, averages 162-177 deaths per 100,000 people from cancer. To the east, cancer mortality rates are slightly higher in counties like McDowell and Yancey, at 177-193 deaths per 100,000 people, while the other counties that make up the greater Asheville metropolitan area (Haywood, Madison, Henderson and Transylvania counties) reported 131-162 deaths per 100,000 people.
Of all WNC counties, only Swain registered within the highest cancer mortality bracket, at 193-251 deaths per 100,000 people. This largely follows the article’s assertion that high mortality rates can roughly be correlated to lack of access to care, screenings and treatment in rural areas of the state.
Researchers and health officials interviewed for the article urge residents to be proactive in getting routine screenings, in order to identify and treat common cancers before they spread.
Read the full northcarolinahealthnews.org article on cancer mortality rates in North Carolina here.
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