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Cancer

The average adult human body has approximately 40 trillion cells. Each day approximately 60 billion of these cells go through a process called apoptosis, which is controlled cell death. Normally, these cells die and new ones replace them. Sometimes a cell does not die when it should. Typically, this occurs when the cell has a faulty gene, is infected, or has been damaged by some kind of exposure. In most cases, those kinds of cells are dormant (alive, but not actively growing). Rarely, one of these cells may remain active and start to multiply. Many of these active damaged cells are destroyed by the immune system before they can form a tumor. Typically, the average person will have this kind of activity in their bodies several times a minute. In very rare cases, a few damaged cells may survive and form a growth large enough to become a tumor. When this happens,a person has developed cancer. As the tumor grows it can disrupt normal body function by interrupting and displacing normal tissue, or by releasing unhealthy levels of molecules such as hormones into the body.

Cancer is a term used for a broad class of diseases that involves damaged cells that multiply. Each type of cancer is different and the causes associated with them are different and the effects they have on the body are different. On average, one in two men and one in three women will experience some form of cancer during their lifetime.

Visit the National Cancer Institute Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program (SEER) website to find more in-depth cancer statistics for the United States.
Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States and Utah; one in three women and one in two men will be diagnosed with cancer at some point during their life. The financial costs of cancer are substantial. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality estimates that the direct medical costs for cancer in the United States in 2014 were $87.8 billion. Treatment for lung, prostate, and breast cancers account for more than half of the direct medical costs.
Cancer generally develops over several years and has many causes. Several factors both inside and outside the body contribute to the development of cancer. Some of these factors include genetics, tobacco, diet, weight, physical inactivity, and excessive sunlight exposure. Other factors include exposure to ionizing radiation and environmental chemicals that may be present in the workplace, food, air, or water such as asbestos, benzene, and arsenic.
Nobody is immune from getting cancer. Even though scientific studies have shown that specific risk factors increase the risk for cancer, sometimes people who have no risk factors still develop cancer and people who have many risk factors do not develop cancer. The following list are common cancer risk factors. It is important to remember that some of these factors are modifiable, and others are not:
  • Old age; the risk of developing cancer increases with age
  • Race and ethnicity; people of certain races and heredity are at higher risk for certain types of cancer
  • Tobacco use
  • Certain environmental exposures such as formaldehyde exposure in the workplace or radon exposure in the home
  • Genetics and family history
  • Certain medical conditions/diseases such as a weak immune system, diabetes, Crohn's disease, or human papillomavirus (HPV) infection
There are many ways to reduce your risk for cancer. Following these guidelines will not only reduce your risk for cancer, but improve your general health as well:
  • Maintain a healthy weight
  • Exercise regularly
  • Do not smoke; if you already smoke, look for ways to quit
  • If you drink alcohol, only drink in moderation
  • Receive proper immunizations: certain infectious diseases like the human papillomavirus (HPV) and Hepatitis B and C could lead to cancer later in life
  • Protect your skin from the sun; wear proper sun-protection clothing and use plenty of sunscreen when you are outside
  • Limit your exposure to environmental risk factors, such as asbestos, radon, arsenic, and benzene
  • Get regular medical check ups and follow cancer screening recommendations

Resources

  • Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program (SEER) - National Cancer Institute - The premier source for cancer statistics in the United States
  • EJSCREEN Tool - EJSCREEN is a mapping tool provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. It combines environmental and demographic information about environmental justice topics. Relevant to cancer, EJSCREEN provides data on the lifetime cancer risk from inhalation of air toxics.
  • Community-Focused Exposure and Risk Screening Tool (C-FERST) - C-FERST is a tool provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that helps communities learn about environmental issues and risks. Topics include air quality, air toxics assessment, air pollutant emissions inventory, water discharge sites, water quality inventory report, NPL (Superfund) sites, and more. It also includes data on demographics, schools, and political boundaries.
  • The Utah Cancer Control Program partners with local health departments, community clinics, hospitals and healthcare professionals, community-based organizations, worksites, schools, and policy makers to provide evidence-based strategies to reduce cancer risk, find cancers at an early stage, improve treatment, increase the number of individuals who survive cancer, and improve the quality of life for cancer survivors.

Publications


Program Websites

Indicator Reports (includes contextual information)


Cancer Deaths: Overall
Cancer Deaths: Lung
Cancer Deaths: Breast

Indicator Reports (includes contextual information)


Additional Data Views

  • Statewide Age-Adjusted Incidence Rate of Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia in Children, by Year: Under Age 15 and Under Age 20

Indicator Reports (includes contextual information)


Additional Data Views

Indicator Reports (includes contextual information)


Additional Data Views

Indicator Reports (includes contextual information)


Additional Data Views

Indicator Reports (includes contextual information)


Additional Data Views

  • Statewide number of cases of Brain and Central Nervous System Cancer: by Sex, by Year
  • Number of cases of Brain and Central Nervous System Cancer, by 5-Year Group: Statewide and by County

  • Statewide age-adjusted rates of Brain and Central Nervous System Cancer: by Year and by Sex, by Year
  • Age-adjusted rates of Brain and Central Nervous System Cancer, by 5-Year Group: Statewide and by County

Indicator Reports (includes contextual information)


Additional Data Views

Additional Data Views

Count Cases
  • Number of cases of Breast Cancer in females by 5-Year Group, by County: All Ages

Age-adjusted Rates

Indicator Reports (includes contextual information)


Additional Data Views

Additional Data Views

Additional Data Views

Additional Data Views

Indicator Reports (includes contextual information)


Additional Data Views

Indicator Reports (includes contextual information)


Additional Data Views

Additional Data Views

  • Statewide number of cases of Liver and Intrahepatic Bile Duct Cancer: by Year and by Sex, by Year
  • Number of cases of Liver and Intrahepatic Bile Duct Cancer, by 5-Year Group: Statewide and by County

  • Statewide age-adjusted rates of Liver and Intrahepatic Bile Duct Cancer: by Year and by Sex, by Year
  • Age-adjusted rates of Liver and Intrahepatic Bile Duct Cancer, by 5-Year Group: Statewide and by County

Additional Data Views

Additional Data Views

Additional Data Views

Additional Data Views

Indicator Reports (includes contextual information)


Additional Data Views

Additional Data Views

Additional Data Views

Additional Data Views

Cancer Registry Data Query


Click here to view all available public queries and metadata for all secure portal queries.
The UEPHTN receives cancer data from two sources:
  • The Utah Cancer Registry (UCR) public health in Utah by maintaining cancer data, which makes the monitoring of trends in incidence and mortality as well as the evaluation of prevention and control measures possible. One of the major functions of the UCR is to serve as a resource for researchers, physicians, hospitals, and the Utah Department of Health. The UCR also provides local data to national agencies such as the National Cancer Institute, the American Cancer Society, and the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries, for the purpose of generating national cancer statistics. Other functions include serving as an educational and data resource for physicians and institutions, to stimulate research into all aspects of cancer in Utah, and to promote state-of-the-art cancer diagnosis and treatment. The primary funding source for UCR comes from the National Cancer Institute, with supplementary funding from the University of Utah and the Utah Department of Health. type of cancer.
  • The Office of Vital Records and Statistics tracks every death due to cancer in the state. Deaths are recorded as being due to cancer when the cancer was the primary cause of death. A person may die from other causes but have active cancer at the same time.

View complete metadata.
Requests for a cancer statistical review should be made through your Local Health Department.

The Environmental Epidemiology Program (EEP) within the Utah Department of Health, assists Utah's local health departments by investigating public concerns of cancer clusters. The EEP receives data about cancer incidence, as reported from the Utah Cancer Registry. Using these data, the EEP is able to conduct statistical reviews of cancer incidence for Utah communities. The goals of a statistical review are to (1) determine if there is more cancer than would be expected under normal circumstances, (2) investigate the presence of potential environmental hazards (such as hazardous waste sites) which may be contributing to a community's cancer risk, and (3) increase the public's knowledge regarding cancer and cancer risk factors. The protocol for conducting these investigations is located here: Protocol for Investigating Cancer Cluster Concerns in Utah.


Location Year Report Link
Box Elder County 2013 Western Bear River Valley
Davis County 2013 Dioxin Concerns in South Davis County
Davis County 2012 West Point
Davis County 2007 Layton
Davis County 2007 Bountiful and Woods Cross
Davis County 2005 Areas around Hill Air Force Base
Davis County 2003 Sunset and Clinton
Grand County 2018 Cancer Incidence Statistical Review- Five Year Update for Moab
Grand County 2013 Cancer Incidence Statistical Review for Moab
Salt Lake County 2015 Red Butte Creek Oil Spill
Salt Lake County 2006 Cottonwood Heights
San Juan County 2012 Monticello Uranium and Vanadium Mill
Utah County 2004 Mapleton
Statewide 2016 Leukemia: Statewide Investigation
Statewide 2015 Thyroid Cancer: Statewide Investigation
Statewide 2013 Brain Cancers: Statewide Investigation
Special Investigation 2008 Electromagnetic Fields Proximity in Schools
Special Investigation 2006 Childhood Leukemia to High Traffic Roads in Utah
Utah Environmental Public Health Tracking Network, Utah Department of Health, P.O. Box 142104, Salt Lake City, UT 84114-2104, Telephone: 801-538-6191, Email: eep@utah.gov
The information provided above is from the Utah Department of Health's Center for Health Data IBIS-PH web site (http://epht.health.utah.gov). The information published on this website may be reproduced without permission. Please use the following citation: " Retrieved Mon, 17 May 2021 14:00:59 from Utah Department of Health, Center for Health Data, Indicator-Based Information System for Public Health Web site: http://epht.health.utah.gov ".

Content updated: Mon, 10 Feb 2020 13:33:34 MST