Chronic Disease Prevention
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).
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