The question was first raised in 2007, when Madison County Hospital officials became concerned over a report from the Ohio Cancer Incidence Surveillance System that showed the county had the second highest rate of breast cancer deaths compared to similar counties between 1998 and 2001. The hospital began an initiative to not only find out why, but also to increase the number of women getting screened for breast cancer, said Mona Flax, chief development officer.
“When you talked to people on the street, there was certainly a concern that there was some environmental factor,” Flax said.
The hospital foundation began a campaign to help address the issue. The campaign caught the attention of state Sen. Chris Widener, R-Springfield, and Wright State University. In October 2008, Widener asked the university to conduct research on the anomaly.
When researchers began to collect data from a wider period of time, it added some clarity to the issue, according to study organizers.
Between 2001 and 2005 the county was again reporting the second highest percentage of cancer-related deaths compared to those same counties, but the report also noted that the county had the second lowest incidents of breast cancers overall.
The report also found that those women were getting diagnosed at a later stage than women in other counties.
To Flax, the results meant that it was less likely the environment was playing a role in cancer deaths and more likely a lack of early detection was.
“One thing that is pretty clear is that we have a higher incident of late-stage diagnosis than other counties,” Flax said. “My assumption is that we don’t have women getting screened for breast cancer.”
Overall, Madison County has a low number of breast cancer cases per year and a small population size, which makes it more difficult to identify trends, said Sylvia Ellison, Master of Public Health Program, Boonshoft School of Medicine.
In the 11 years covered by the study, the county had 22 cancer deaths, Ellison said. “When you’re looking at small numbers like that, it becomes difficult to decide if you have an unusually high or low incident of anything.”
In fact 2005-07 numbers from the Ohio Department of Health shows the county’s mortality rate from breast cancer has dropped by 55 percent since 1999-2001. And is now comparable to similar counties, the state and the nation.
For Flax, the report confirmed health officials’ concerns about the number of women who were undergoing regular screening for the disease.
The Madison County Hospital Foundation has raised $1.4 million of it’s $2 million capital campaign to expand breast-cancer services at the hospital as well increase women’s access to services and screenings.
In addition to purchasing diagnostic equipment, a portion of the funding will go to an endowment fund “to make sure that every woman in the county has access to care regardless of their ability to pay,” she said.
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