Advanced cancer treatments and research have been helping reduce cancer mortality nationally and in Wisconsin. However, chronic health disparities in cancer remain a major public health concern as not all population subgroups have equal accesses to these healthcare benefits. Previous cancer studies showed that cancer health disparities persisted among racial populations had primarily focused on the entire state of Wisconsin. The southeastern region Wisconsin, the greater Milwaukee metropolitan area, is home to 83% of Wisconsin’s African American population, and includes one of the most segregated metropolitan areas in the United States. Because of this, better understanding of cancer trends in the southeastern Wisconsin region can assist in targeting a focal point to more effectively use resources to eliminate health disparities in Wisconsin.
Objective
To assesse health disparities in all-site cancer incidence and mortality rates, and stage of specific cancer diagnosis (female breast cancer and colorectal cancer) compared between African American and white populations of southeastern Wisconsin during 2007-2011.