Cancer Screening Services
The second leading cause of death in the United States is cancer, and Kentucky’s population ranks fourth among all the states in cancer mortality. In 2006, nearly 24,000 Kentuckians were diagnosed with cancer, and more than 9,300 died of the disease. Our cancer death rate is 17 percent worse than the national average.
That is why the James Graham Brown Cancer Center along the providing the latest and most advanced cancer treatments and therapies, we also provide cancer screening services either at the Cancer Center or through our partner, University Hospital.
Kentucky, which leads the nation in the percentage of adults who smoke, also leads in lung cancer incidence and deaths. It is disturbing to note that the death rate from lung cancer in Kentucky is 45 percent higher than in the nation as a whole. Tobacco is part of the culture and economy of Kentucky, deeply ingrained in daily life for many. This, coupled with a poorly educated populace in many parts of the state, has made it difficult to convince Kentuckians of the health risks of smoking. Each year, Kentucky spends $1.2 billion on tobacco-related diseases including lung cancer.
There are also several populations in Kentucky that have a disproportionate risk of cancer. These include the African-American populations of Kentucky’s urban areas; the poor, rural population of Western Kentucky; and the Appalachian population in Eastern Kentucky. The age-adjusted death rate from cervical cancer in Appalachia, for example, is 3.24 per 100,000 as opposed to 2.66 for non-Appalachian Kentucky counties. However, the population at the most disproportionate risk of cancer in Kentucky is the large number of current and former heavy smokers.
Funded by Kentucky’s General Assembly and as part of the James Graham Brown Cancer, the Kentucky Cancer Program reaches out into the western Kentucky communities to provide valuable cancer screenings and cancer prevention education. Some of their programs include …