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Go to the
2004
Health Status Report update This update supplements the 2000 Health Status Report by providing updated information for many aspects of the health of our region. |
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Breast cancer is the leading form of
cancer diagnosed in Canadian women (excluding
non-melanoma skin cancer). Breast cancer accounts
for about 30% of all new cases of cancer in women.
In 1995, 28% of all new cancers in women residing
in Leeds Grenville and Lanark (LGL) were breast
cancer. In 1996, breast cancer was one of the
leading causes of death for women in LGL, as it
accounted for about 7% of all deaths among women
in the region (see
figure 1). In general, breast cancer incidence rates
begins to rise after age 30, and the highest rates
are among women who are older than 60. In Canada
and in LGL, incidence rates have increased slowly
and steadily over time, rising most rapidly among
women aged 50 and over (see figure 2). In
1981 there were only 60 new cases of breast cancer
in LGL, in 1995 there were 109. A rise in the
number of new cases has also occurred in Ontario.
A comparison of breast cancer incidence rates
between Ontario and LGL, demonstrates that between
1993-1995 there was no significant difference
between rates in these regions (see figure 3). Despite reported decreases in the breast
cancer mortality rates in Canada, little change
has been observed in LGL in the past 15 years (see figure 4).
There were about 60 deaths per year due to breast
cancer for every 100,000 women in LGL in 1995,
about the same rate as in 1981 (55 deaths per year
per 100,000 women). Compared to Ontario, the breast cancer
mortality in LGL is high. Between 1994-1996
age-standardized mortality from breast cancer was
higher in LGL than in Ontario (see figure 5). In July 1990, the first Ontario Breast
Screening Program (OBSP) site in London was
opened. By 1992, the OBSP was operating out of
nine designated sites. The program started so that
new cases of breast cancer could be diagnosed
early on in their earliest stages of development.
Not all public health units have OBSP sites; women
may have to travel outside of their area to be
screened in an OBSP site. This is the case in LGL.
However, an OBSP satellite clinic is slated to
open at the Brockville General Hospital in early
2000. Over time, the proprotion of women living in
LGL that have been screened at an OBSP clinic, has
increased (see
figure 6). Data definitions, limitations
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