Northeast Texas shows highest cancer rates in the state

Statistics gathered from the CDC showed that Cass County was ranked 31 out of 256 counties in Texas with the highest cancer rates in Texas.

They also showed that the county was ranked 49 for new cancer cases. Statistically, Cass continues to stay where it is at, not necessarily getting any worse, but not getting any better in contrast to the other counties around the state of Texas.

The website Stacker recently compiled the counties with the highest cancer rates in Texas using data from the CDC. Our research collaborates with that.

The data itself comes from U.S. Cancer Statistics, the official federal cancer statistics.

The information showed that Cass County had a cancer rate per 100,000, during 2016-2020: 697.3, along with the age-adjusted rate per 100,000, 2016-2020: 469.3. (The age-adjusted rates are rates that would have existed if the population under study had the same age distribution as the “standard” population.) 31 overall. New Cancer Cases, rate per 150,012, with an age-adjusted rate of 469.3 and 1,046 overall new cases.

According to data maps Northeast Texas in general has some of the highest rates in Texas for cancer with lung cancer being by far the largest in the State of Texas. A report from the University of Texas Tyler showed that Cass was the fourth largest in our region out of 20.

Second, the statistics showed that Northeast Texas was above the state average in lung, colorec- tal, prostate, pancreas, and cervical with lung cancer by far ranked higher than the others.

An obvious correlation can be connected to the area between tobacco use and lung cancer.

The research gathered from UT Texas showed that “Smoking is a major contributor to heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, colorectal cancer, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) – diseases for which mortality rates are higher in Northeast Texas than in Texas overall. In 2019, 16.2% of adults in Northeast Texas reported daily cigarette smoking, compared to 14.7% in Texas overall.

This gap has declined over time, indicating regional progress in reducing cigarette smoking. However, because the health effects of smoking manifest over time, mortality rates for diseases associated with smoking will take years to decline. Tobacco smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S. (15).

The CDC agrees, listing “Cigarette smoking is the number one cause of lung cancer. Lung cancer also can be caused by using other types of tobacco (such as pipes or cigars), breathing secondhand smoke, being exposed to substances such as asbestos or radon at home or work, and having a family history of lung cancer.”

“Not counting some kinds of skin cancer, lung cancer is the second most diagnosed cancer in both men and women in the United States.” Catching it is the key though. The good news is after increasing for decades, lung cancer rates are decreasing nationally, as fewer people smoke cigarettes and as lung cancer treatments improve. People with lung cancer are living longer after their diagnosis because more cases are found early when treatment works best.”

It is also worthy of note that “smoking prevalence in a community is reflected in the smoking prevalence among its pregnant population.

Smoking during pregnancy is significantly associated with an increased risk for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and other sleep-related deaths. Among births in Texas, infants born to a woman who smoked during pregnancy were found to have more than three times the risk of a SIDS death than infants born to a woman who did not smoke.

Furthermore, smoking during pregnancy has been shown to have a dose-dependent relationship with birth weight. Every cigarette a woman smokes during pregnancy is proportionately related to a decrease in her fetus’s birth weight (18, 19).

“As in Texas and the U.S., Northeast Texas has seen a steady decline in the percentage of live births to a woman who smoked during pregnancy, from 14.1% in 2011 to 7.8% in 2019, which represents a 46% decrease over nine years However, the gap between Northeast Texas and Texas overall has persisted. In 2019, compared to all Texas babies, a Northeast Texas baby was still three times more likely to have been born to a woman who smoked during pregnancy.”

CDC says that “Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States, but many kinds of cancer can be prevented or caught early.

Leading risk factors for preventable cancers are smoking, getting too much ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun or tanning beds, being overweight or having obesity, and drinking too much alcohol.”

Based on the findings, it would appear that the lifestyles of how those in Northeast Texas eat and exercise there may also be a correlation.

It may also correlate to the primary cause of death, heart disease.

Also, since Northeast Texas is higher than the rest of the state in cervical Cancer cases… The CDC says “that human papillomavirus (HPV) causes most cervical cancers, as well as some cancers of the vagina, vulva, penis, anus, and oropharynx (cancers of the back of the throat, including the base of the tongue and tonsils).

The HPV vaccine helps prevent most of these cancers. It is most effective when given in two doses about 6 to 12 months apart, starting at age 11 or 12. Nationwide, 77% of females and 73% of males aged 13–17 have received at least one dose of the HPV vaccine.

That means many preteens have not been vaccinated against the virus, leaving them at higher risk of cancers caused by HPV infections.”

It is worth noting that Texas as a whole is not listed with the highest rates for Cancer in the nation, however, surrounding states to Northeast Texas Arkansas and Louisiana are in the top 3.