Today is Don't Fry Day - a day established by the National Council on Skin Cancer Prevention to remind people of the importance of sunscreen. In Arizona, we need more than a day - it is more of a season and now that school’s just about out (or is), kids have more time on their [...]
Life expectancy improved by more than 30 years in the US during the 20th Century. Advances in diagnosis and treatment of disease have played a role, but the real reason we’re living longer today has a lot more to do with public health interventions than advances in health care. Interventions like vaccines, motor vehicle safety, [...]
Chronic diseases are responsible for 70% of deaths among Arizonans each year and 75% of health spending. These diseases are often preventable and can be managed effectively when detected early. While many factors can contribute to chronic diseases, it is important to understand that you can greatly lower your risk of developing a chronic disease, [...]
The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (also known as H.R. 1256) went into effect last summer. The law basically gives the FDA the power to regulate some aspects of the tobacco industry. A signature element of the law imposes new warnings and labels on tobacco packaging and their advertisements, with the goal of discouraging [...]
Our Arizona Cancer Center has developed a highly interactive new website using state-of-the-art GIS technology. This nifty new website lets the public and researchers access cancer data by communities (Community Health Analysis Areas). It allows easy access to age adjusted incidence rates and counts for 13 cancers that have public health implications. The website visualizes [...]
As predicted by our 1990 ADHS Vital Statistics Bureau in 1990- cancer is now the number one killer in Arizona – surpassing heart disease. Does this mean that cancer is getting worse? Probably not- it really says that because of better management, treatment, and prevention of heart disease- people with heart conditions are living longer. [...]
Our Smoke Free Arizona and ITS teams polished off their electronic Complaint Reporting System this week. Our county partners can use the new tool to manage complaints electronically. The reports can be downloaded in PDF format or Excel. This is a great example of a solid team effort with participation from both teams including Harmony Duport, [...]
Colorectal cancer is the third leading cause of cancer in Arizona, with 2,213 cases in 2006 (according to our Cancer Data Query System) But only about half the folks in Arizona take advantage of a simple screening test that can save their life. Last week, The Lancet published the first clinical trial that clearly demonstrates [...]
The ADHS Arizona Cancer Registry is a population-based surveillance system that collects, manages and analyzes information on the incidence, survival and mortality of persons having been diagnosed with cancer. We began collecting cancer case information in 1981. The Registry has data available describing cancer in Arizona using a variety of descriptors, including site of origin, age, [...]
The Mexican Federal Government announced a new policy this week to promote medical tourism in Mexico. Medical tourism is when you go abroad for medical care. Their goal is to encourage U.S. residents (with an initial focus on the uninsured) to travel to Mexico for their medical needs, generating jobs and investment. Another objective is [...]
