SCCA: SC Cancer Registry publishes 10-year report

June 17, 2009

DHEC's S.C. Cancer Registry publishes first 10-year report

The S.C. Central Cancer Registry has published its first 10-year report of cancer trends in the state, the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control announced today.

"This report is a milestone for the state," said DHEC Commissioner Earl Hunter. "Cancer is one of the leading causes of deaths and illness. It is critical not only to be able to track the number of deaths, but to have information on the number of people who have been diagnosed with the disease. This cancer survival data provides another avenue to measure the burden of cancer on our residents."

"The S.C. Central Cancer Registry has maintained national standards of quality, timeliness, and completeness evidenced by certification from the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries each year since 1997," he said. "Meeting those standards in all categories assures that the data are valid and reliable for use in the healthcare and research communities across the state and nation."

According to the report, deaths due to cancer decreased by 18.2 percent from 1996 through 2005 for all races and genders combined. The total incidence for all cancers decreased by 3.2 percent over the 10-year period.

"Decreasing cancer death rates is a sign of progress in the fight against cancer," he said. "But there is still much to be done. The report shows that there are still cancer disparities, as indicated by the differences in cancer death rates among races."

The five leading types of cancer were prostate, lung, breast, colorectal and bladder. The five leading causes of cancer deaths were lung, colorectal, breast, prostate and pancreatic.

Five-year observed survival rates for all cancers combined in the state were 51.4 percent, meaning a little over half the patients with cancer survive for five years. The median survival time, which is the time at which half the patients with cancer are still living, was 66.5 months or about 5.5 years. Survival was highest for white females (55.8 percent), followed by white males (50.3 percent), black females (47.1 percent) and black males (44.6 percent).

Cancers with the poorest survival for all race and gender groups in order from the poorest to the best were liver, pancreatic, lung, brain and esophageal.

"The survival data will help our public health efforts by providing insights about where our next steps need to be for the best results as we work to fight cancers," Hunter said.

For more information and data from this report, please visit the DHEC Web site or you may call the Cancer Registry toll-free at 1-800-817-4774.

The State reports: Higher cigarette tax will make S.C. more physically and fiscally fit

Most people know that smoking carries a major health impact. A recent study by the Harvard School of Public Health confirms that smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. It is a primary cause of lung cancer, heart and vascular disease and emphysema, is associated with many digestive cancers, bladder cancer, breast cancer, reproductive disturbances, is a contributor to age-related mental decline and so on.

Most, however, do not consider that smoking also exacts a significant fiscal toll on our state.

The U.S. Center for Disease Control estimates that every pack of cigarettes sold generates $7 in smoking-related health-care costs and lost worker productivity. That cost is paid by every taxpayer, every private health insurance customer (individual and business) and by employers — regardless of whether any of them smoke or not. As such, smoking creates both physical loss in the form of damage to life and health, and fiscal loss in the form of medical treatment for smoking-related illness and lost worker productivity.

Some would consider this a hidden tax that every citizen pays to treat the deadly habit of a few.
One of the most effective ways to drive down this human and financial toll is to reduce the number of smokers by helping people choose not to smoke in the first place.

The Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids says that every 10 percent increase in the real price of cigarettes reduces overall cigarette consumption by 3 percent to 5 percent. It reduces the number of young-adult smokers by 3.5 percent and the number of kids who smoke by between 6 percent and 7 percent. Cigarette price increases also reduce the number of teenagers who start smoking. That has an important long-term effect as 90 percent of smokers say they began smoking as a teenager.

The sooner South Carolina enacts an increase in the cigarette tax, the sooner our state starts to save lives and reduce the toll. We make an investment in our physical and financial health today and tomorrow. Fewer people begin to smoke, and more smokers quit. We, our children and grandchildren enjoy healthier, longer, more productive lives. We spend less emotion and money treating illness and disease.

The S.C. Tobacco Collaborative and our partners strongly urge our legislators to consider South Carolina’s physical and fiscal health, and pass the cigarette tax increase this session. We cannot afford to wait.

Mr. Bowie is executive director of the S.C. Tobacco Collaborative, a partnership of individuals, organizations and agencies committed to reducing the toll of tobacco use in South Carolina. He is a S.C. native and resident of Chapin.

South Carolina Cancer Alliance meeting - Friday, April 24th in Columbia

Register TODAY for the next meeting of the SC Cancer Alliance to be held Friday, April 24, 2009 at the Columbia Conference Center located at 169 Laurelhurst Avenue, Columbia, SC. The meeting will begin at 9:30 AM with task force meetings.

We have a great agenda lined up for you for this meeting, including:

“NCI Designation & What it Means for South Carolina” Carolyn E. Reed, MD MUSC Hollings Cancer Center

“Clinical Trials Matching Service” Simbonika Spencer, MPH of the American Cancer Society

“SCCA Legislative Update” Ted Riley, Esq., SCCA Lobbyist, Riley, Pope & Laney, LLC

You won’t want to miss this great meeting. Register online at www.sccanceralliance.org. Please submit any questions to Laura Stuckey at laura.stuckey@sccanceralliance.org


The mission South Carolina Cancer Alliance is to reduce the impact of cancer on ALL people in South Carolina. The SCCA is a 501(c)3 organization. To donate, go to www.sccanceralliance.org.