The word "cancer" strikes fear into the hearts of most people. It can be deadly and is relatively common, which means that many have lost loved ones to the disease or battled it themselves.
Though cancer is among the leading causes of death worldwide, cancer death rates are actually decreasing. Improved preventative and diagnostic care have likely contributed to this trend. Given this information, the analysts at HealthGrove, a health research site powered by Graphiq, wanted to find the states in the U.S. with the lowest cancer rates.
Using the most recent data (2013) from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, HealthGrove found the 25 states with the lowest cancer incidence rates. In the case of ties, the state with the lower number of incidences is ranked higher. Cancer incidence rates refer to the number of people diagnosed with cancer per 100,000 people -- not all of whom necessarily die. Additionally, these figures have been adjusted to account for the varying age demographics in different states. The CDC used demographic data from 2000 when age-adjusting the incidence rates. This ensures that states with older populations, such as Florida, don't rank highest simply because their average citizen is older and, on average, more illness-prone.
The data shows that incidence rates are lowest in the West and highest in the East and South. However, explaining these differences is no easy feat. Accounting for the state-by-state variances is difficult due to the many factors that could play a role. Everything from ethnicity and socioeconomic status to weather could influence why one state has a higher or lower incidence rate than another.
Note: Though the CDC used population data from 2000 to perform the state age adjustments, the population data included on this list is from 2014.
Compiiled by Sabrina Perry, HealthGrove.com
