Cancer in the Valley

People often hold the key to prevention, early detection

By Patrick Cooley, pcooley@mariettatimes.com
There are many factors that can lead to a cancer diagnosis, but according to a representative from the American Cancer Society, 60 percent of cases involve lifestyle choices such as smoking, poor diet and infrequent exercise.

That means that while heredity and environmental factors may be beyond an individual’s control, other cancer contributors are preventable, said Bob Paschen, a spokesman for the American Cancer Society.

“There are some things you can’t choose,” he said. “But six in 10 cancer deaths are caused by smoking and other lifestyle choices.”

Paschen said three in 10 cancer deaths are the result of smoking, and three in 10 are the result of lifestyle choices, such as diet and exercise.

Paschen said lung and bronchus cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in both men and women. Smoking is, by far, the most significant risk factor in the development of lung cancer, with about 87 percent of lung cancer deaths being smoking-related.

The American Cancer Society says approximately 59,220 Ohioans were diagnosed with cancer in 2007. This equals 162 new cancer cases every day. Approximately 24,600 Ohioans died of cancer in 2007. The death rate in Ohio is consistently in the highest 25 percent in the United States.

According to Ginger McConnell, income development coordinator for the central region of the American Cancer Society, the types of cancer with the highest survival rates are breast and colon cancer.

“Breast cancer, with all the screenings, (is) being diagnosed at earlier stages,” she said. “We have a higher survival rate because it’s easier to treat it at an earlier stage.

“The same runs true for colon cancer just because there are more screenings,” she said.

Unfortunately, this is not the case for all types of cancer.

“Lung cancer is the one not being detected at earlier stages. There is no screening for it,” she said. “You don’t get checked until you’re having an issue.”

Lung and bronchus cancer has just a 15 percent survival rate in Ohio.

Overall, Washington County is above the national average for incidence of all types of cancer. According to American Cancer Society statistics, the county has a higher rate of lung and bronchus and colon and rectal cancer than the country as a whole. Although the prostate cancer rate is lower in the county than the national average, it is higher than the state rate.

McConnell said the area’s standing in the nation depends on a variety of different factors.

“Some kinds are hereditary (such as prostate and breast cancer). In those kinds of cancer, we’re just with the national average,” she said.

“Anything related to tobacco usage (such as lung and mouth cancer), we are actually higher than a lot of counties in Ohio,” she said. “I think it’s because we’re a rural community and there’s a lot more smokeless tobacco.”

McConnell said the American Cancer Society’s Smoke Free Ohio campaign pushed for the state’s year-old public smoking ban, which should help those numbers drop in the next few years.

Despite mortality rate statistics, Jennifer Offenberger, director of marketing and public relations at Marietta Memorial Hospital, said an individual’s chance of surviving a particular type of cancer depends on the specific circumstances of their case.

“It’s hard to put a number to any of it and say one has a higher mortality rate,” she said. “There are so many factors that play into it. It’s true that when cancer is detected earlier, there is a higher chance of remission or recovery.

“That’s why the Strecker Cancer Center (at Marietta Memorial Hospital) focuses just as much time and attention to prevention as well as treatment,” she said.

Offenberger said representatives of the center often visit schools and hold education programs for women’s and civic groups.

In addition to proper diet and getting enough exercise, other ways to prevent cancer include watching the amount of alcohol one consumes, getting regular checkups at the doctor’s office and getting cancer screenings when they are necessary, Offenberger said.

“No one can prevent it completely,” she said.