. "2 The Burden of Cancer Among Ethnic Minority and the Medically Underserved Populations." The Unequal Burden of Cancer: An Assessment of NIH Research and Programs for Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 1999.
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State (% below poverty level)
Non-Hispanic White
Hispanic
Black
American Indian
Pacific Islander/Asian
New York (13.0)
69.4
12.0
14.5
0.3
3.7
North Carolina (13.0)
75.1
1.0
21.9
1.2
0.7
North Dakota (14.4)
94.3
0.7
0.5
3.9
0.5
Ohio (12.5)
87.1
1.2
10.6
0.2
0.8
Oklahoma (16.7)
81.1
2.7
7.3
7.9
1.0
Oregon (12.4)
90.8
3.9
1.6
1.4
2.3
Pennsylvania (11.1)
87.8
1.9
9.0
0.1
1.1
Rhode Island (9.6)
89.5
4.4
3.4
0.4
1.7
South Carolina (15.4)
68.6
0.8
29.7
0.3
0.6
South Dakota (15.9)
91.2
0.8
0.4
7.1
0.5
Tennessee (15.7)
82.6
0.6
15.9
0.3
0.6
Texas (18.1)
60.8
25.3
11.7
0.4
1.8
Utah (11.4)
91.3
4.8
0.6
1.4
1.9
Vermont (9.9)
98.0
0.7
0.4
0.4
0.5
Virginia (10.3)
76.0
2.5
18.7
0.3
2.5
Washington (10.9)
86.9
4.2
3.0
1.6
4.2
West Virginia (19.7)
95.9
0.4
3.1
0.2
0.4
Wisconsin (10.7)
91.4
1.8
5.0
0.8
1.1
Wyoming (11.9)
91.1
5.5
0.7
2.1
0.6
SOURCE: Statistics are from the U.S. Bureau of the Census (1997a).
because the procedure can detect abnormal cells before they become cancerous (U.S. Public Health Service, 1991). Other cancer screening tests such as fecal occult blood testing are readily available.
Existing data demonstrate that the rates of late stage at diagnosis and poor cancer survival rates are disproportionately higher among ethnic minorities. Similarly, the available information indicates that the rate of participation in cancer screening programs is lower among ethnic minorities and low SES individuals (Breen and Figueroa, 1996; Breen et al., 1996; Hoffman-Goetz et al., 1998). For example, recent trends in breast cancer mortality indicate that the mortality rate for U.S. white women decreased during the period from 1980 to 1988, whereas the rate for African-American women increased significantly. This difference in trends was
