Cancer report better than expected; Issues still need to be addressed

Dr. Alan Ducatman told 40 medical providers last month that Hardy County does not have an across the board cancer problem.  In fact, he said there is no reason to panic or have concerns about cancer clusters. The incidence of all cancer and the mortality rates in Hardy County are lower than those of West Virginia as a whole.

Last month Ducatman, chairman of the Department of Community Medicine at West Virginia University’s School of Medicine, gave the local medical community an overview of the information provided by the cancer surveys taken last spring.

The information provided in the 2,097 returned surveys was mixed with a review of available health, environmental, demographic and other data for the report given to local doctors, nurses, technicians, and hospital administrators from both public and private medical providers.

WVU joined with the WV Bureau of Public Health to create a team consisting of experts in cancer, cancer registry data, community health, environmental health and survey research. The effort was in response to community leaders in Hardy County who had expressed concerns regarding what was perceived as excessive cancers.

Local people involved were Delegate Harold K. Michael, County Commissioner Roger Champ, editor Phoebe Fisher Heishman, facilitator Phyllis Cole, and members of the WVU Extension staff.

Ducatman told the attendees that survey respondents were concerned about what was in the air and water. He noted that Hardy County is in the radon belt and encouraged educating home owners to test their homes. He also pointed out that wood burning stoves could be considered a non-point source for air pollution.

Dr. Ducatman said the county should be commended for the high rate of early diagnosis for women with breast cancer. The incidence rate for invasive breast cancer is lower in Hardy County than in West Virginia as a whole, probably because the percentage of breast cancer cases diagnosed at the in situ (has not spread) stage is nearly twice that of the state as a whole.

Cigarette smoking rates in Hardy County are lower than the rest of the state, but smokeless tobacco use is higher.

Some relatively uncommon cancers do occur at slightly higher rates in Hardy County than in the rest of the state. These cancers are in the esophagus, gallbladder, liver, brain, uterus and ovary. No single cause for these cancers has emerged, but Ducatman mentioned that five of these cancers are estrogen sensitive. He referred to the recent finding of male fish with eggs in the South Branch River and suggested that endocrine disrupters in the water may be of worth further testing and evaluation.

Beyond cancer concerns, Ducatman said access to health care is a challenge to Hardy County residents. Rates of complications of labor and delivery are higher in Hardy County than in the state as a whole.