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Senator Mathias Backs Cancer Cluster Study

msa.maryland.gov

Maryland State Senator Jim Mathias has joined a group of state legislators calling for a team of health and environmental officials to look at cancer clusters in the state.

The Eastern Shore Democrat told the Salisbury Daily Times that he believes there are some areas that have incidents of cancer which could be tied to income and education among other things.

A 2012 report by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene found that cancer was the leading cause of death in the state.

Currently, reports must be filed biennially and requires Maryland jurisdictions to eliminate higher rates of cancer in minority populations as well as increase access to health care for uninsured or underserved communities.

The rates of death in Wicomico County between 2005 and 2009 were 25 percent higher than the national average according to the Department report.

Other Eastern Shore Counties like Somerset, Dorchester, Caroline, Queen Anne’s, Kent and Cecil counties have rates 10 to 25 percent higher than the national average.

Worcester and Talbot counties were 10 percent below to 10 percent above the national average.

 

Don Rush is the News Director at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.