Cancer mortality rate falls nearly 20 percent
By Robbie Dingeman
Advertiser Health Writer
Hawai'i's death rate from cancer has fallen nearly 20 percent in the past two decades, but certain cancers are on the rise among some ethnic groups, a new report says.
"The good news is our cancer mortality rates are coming down and have been since the '80s," said Marc Goodman, a researcher at the University of Hawai'i Cancer Research Center of Hawai'i. "We do have quite low cancer incidence and mortality rates compared to other places."
The cancer death rate among men dropped 17 percent, from 216 per 100,000 people from 1975 to 1979, to 179 per 100,000 from 1995 to 2000.
Among women, who get fewer cancers as a whole, the improvement was better: a 19 percent decline, from 145 per 100,000 people from 1975 to 1979, to 117 per 100,000 from 1995 to 2000.
The statistics come from a report released yesterday — Hawai'i Cancer Facts & Figures 2003-2004, produced by the American Cancer Society, the UH Cancer Research Center of Hawai'i and the state Department of Health.
Cancer survivors see the report as a way to help more people prevent the disease. Shizuko Mukaida, 85, said it has been 38 years since she learned she had breast cancer. She summed up her message with a smile and a triumphant wave of her arms over her head: "I'm thankful that I'm alive."
Dr. Brian Issell, of the cancer center and the cancer society, said the number of cancer cases is generally increasing but that's likely because of early detection of the disease from increasing awareness.
"The challenge of cancer is clear," the report said. "It is the second-leading cause of death in the state and nation." During a six-year period in Hawai'i (1995 to 2000), close to 5,900 men or boys and 4,500 women or girls died of cancer. That meant about 1,700 Hawai'i residents died each year from the disease.
The data were developed based on U.S. Census Bureau information from the 2000 population count. Another report as detailed won't be available until 2012 at the earliest.
The report is the first of its kind and intended to examine ethnic differences and other variables to help decide where resources should be focused.
For lung cancer, from 1975 to 1984, the rates for Filipino men remained among the lowest in the state at 43 or 44 cases for every 100,000 people, but the rate continued to increase since then to a high of more than 85 per 100,000 people by the 1995 to 2000 period.
By contrast, Caucasian men were closer to 100 per 100,000 people from 1975 to 1984, but by the 1995 to 2000 period, the rate had declined to 78 per 100,000 people. Similarly, the rate started higher for Japanese men in the late 1970s but declined to 55 per 100,000 people by the 1995 to 2000 period.
Charlene Cuaresma, of the cancer center, is among those working to identify cultural barriers to cancer prevention and treatment. She cited religious beliefs among many Filipinos.
"You would like to go to heaven with your body intact," she said, and therefore are less inclined to seek treatment that might result in removal of a breast or kidney.
For female breast cancer statistics, it appears that Japanese and Caucasian women are more likely to have early detection of the disease while Hawaiian and Filipino women are finding out about the disease later in life.
Reach Robbie Dingeman at rdingeman@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2429.
