Printer Friendly
Email to a Friend
Fewer Cancer Specialists Practicing in Rural Areas
(KTNC) -- A national study finds cancer care in rural America is lacking and without significant changes, won't likely improve. One of the study's authors, Dr. Blase Polite, a professor of medicine at the University of Chicago, says there are too few cancer specialists in rural areas and they face an increasing number of cancer patients.
The report found nearly two-thirds of all cancer practices with one to five doctors planned to close, merge or sell in the next year because a lot of the cost pressures.
The study finds seven in ten counties nationwide don't have a cancer specialist, and while 20-percent of Americans live in rural areas, only three-percent of oncologists are located in rural areas.
Dr. Polite says one of the downsides to increasing longevity is that as people live longer, more will be diagnosed with cancer. He says the fear is that some patients in rural areas will simply give up because of the uphill fight to get treatment in a far-away city.
Polite is a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, which put out the report, "The State of Cancer Care in America: 2014." Learn more at the website: www.asco.org.
© Nebraska Radio Network
MOST VIEWED STORIES
Separate wrecks injure teens, dump truck driver
10-year-old St. Joseph child shot, hospitalized
Five injured, including two critically, in St. Joseph crash
Brown Co Commissioner plans to resign
Holton Community Hospital asking for community support
Troy man convicted of sexual battery
One injured, one arrested, after Atchison fight
Fatal Missouri crash claims Atchison man
Man arrested in Brown Co subject to deportation
Topeka woman arrested in Jackson Co on meth charge
A Saturday of celebrations planned in Atchison
Man arrested after armed carjacking in St. Joseph
Actress, filmmaker plans Benedictine College visit
Richardson County Fair royalty crowned
Two local lakes added to public health advisory list
Flags fly in KS for political violence remembrance
Pentagon funds test drilling at NioCorp mine site
McLouth man injured in Leavenworth Co wreck
LATEST STORIES
HTRS Foundation announces scholarship
Two hurt, one cited, in Atchison wreck
ATCO Sheriff seeks hit and run driver
Historic Atchison properties named to natl register
Fatal Missouri crash claims Atchison man
Actress, filmmaker plans Benedictine College visit
RELATED STORIES
USDA Boss Blasts Railroads for Rail Car Shortage
Falls City Hospital Receives Patient Care Award
More Storms Possible this Weekend
Red Cross says Learn to Swim Before Heading to Pool or Lake
Morel Mushroom Season Underway in Nebraska
Falls City Hospital Encouraging People to Walk at Work
Nebraska Among States Considering Legalizing Industrial Hemp
Hiawatha, Ks 66434