Elevated Incidence of Four Forms of Cancer in Long Island and Nassau County
Delthia Ricks at Newsday reports that scientists used mapping techniques and statistical analyses to identify three Long Island communities that have a higher-than-expected rate of four forms of cancer — leukemia, lung, bladder and thyroid.
However, medical experts and patients’ advocates don't believe the information tells the whole story about cancer on Long Island. "Dr. Yusuf Hannun of the Stony Brook Cancer Center said it’s important to understand what kind of research the state has conducted to unmask an elevated number of cases."
Here are Long Island statistics used by epidemiologists and medical scientists who study the distribution of diseases in populations:
Ricks reports that “incidence is about the proportion of cases within a specific time frame. The state’s research was an examination of four types of cancer in three hamlets during a five-year period, from 2011 to 2015. It shouldn’t be confused with another measure known as prevalence, which would indicate how widespread the cancers are in a population.”
The new findings may suggest that leukemia, lung, bladder and thyroid malignancies are the most prevalent cancers in our community, but breast cancer is the most common.
This new research “marks the first phase into a deeper analysis of cancer incidence patterns in specific New York communities. The others are Staten Island, Warren County, East Buffalo and Western Cheektowaga in Erie County,” according to Ricks’ report.
BrightStar Care of Nassau County helps care for seniors on Long Island with cancer and other chronic conditions. To learn more about our home health care services, please visit our website.
Source: https://www.newsday.com/news/health/cancer-data-long-island-1.20014336