The Pacific’s Hawaiian Islands have become an even more enviable place to stay; a study has shown cancer patients there are more likely to survive the disease than in many other countries.
The online edition of the Lancet Oncology medical journal published the CONCORD study this month which compared cancer survival rates with 2 million patients from 31 countries. The United States fared the best survival rate with Hawaii selected as the best state for surviving all cancer except rectal and prostate cancer in men.
A cancer survivor and Hawaii American Cancer Society officer Jackie Young told the Honolulu Star Bulletin the report "is certainly good news, even more reason for living in Hawaii".
Marc Goodman, head of the Hawaii Tumor Registry in the Cancer Research Center of Hawaii believes the good rate is not just because of good medical care but also Hawaii’s way of life, including the local diet, exercise and calmer, stress-less atmosphere.
The research looked at five-year survival rates for breast, colon, rectum and prostate cancers.
The study found U.S. has the highest survival rates for breast and prostate cancers; Japan has the highest rates for colon and rectal cancers among men, and France has the highest rates for female colon and rectal cancer.
Patients were diagnosed from 1990 to 1994 and the study followed them to the end of 1999.
Darlena Chadwick, vice president for patient care at the Queen's Medical Center in Hawaii believes advances in screening to detect cancers earlier and new technology for treatment are contributing to Hawaii's high survival rates.
Now the Hawaii American Cancer Society is looking at disparities among native Hawaiians, Filipinos, Hispanics and Latinos to decrease their mortality rates.
