Louisville Courier-Journal Examines Efforts To Reduce Gynecological Cancer Disparities In Rural Kentucky

The Louisville Courier-Journal on Monday examined a program that is providing gynecological cancer treatment in areas of rural Kentucky that otherwise would lack specialists. According to the Courier-Journal, Kentucky has the third-highest cervical cancer rate in the nation, driven by a high number of cases in the state's rural areas. There are only 10 gynecological oncologists in the state, all of whom are located in the urban areas of Louisville and Lexington.

The program -- a partnership between Trover Health System and the University of Louisville's James Graham Brown Cancer Center -- offers surgeries, radiation treatments and chemotherapy to women with gynecological cancers, who are referred to the program by their local physicians. Gynecological oncologists from other areas travel to the center to provide the care. Between 2006 and 2009, the program recorded 610 patient visits.

The Courier-Journal reports that there were 16.2 deaths per 100,000 cases of gynecological cancers in the far-western part of Kentucky from 2001 through 2005, compared with a state average of 15.8 deaths per 100,000 cases. According to Thomas Tucker, director of the Kentucky Cancer Registry, and Robert Hilgers, executive director of the Kentucky Cervical Cancer Coalition, the disparities can be attributed to poverty, poor access to care, and lack of education and awareness. Low-income women are more likely to be uninsured or underinsured and unable to afford care. In addition, women with low education levels or incomes below the poverty level are less likely than other women to receive regular Pap tests to detect signs of cervical cancer (Ungar, Louisville Courier-Journal, 3/29).


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