One of every four deaths in the U.S. is due to cancer, making it the second leading killer in the nation behind heart disease, according to a new report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The scourge of cancer, however, is greater in some states than others. Reader's Digest analyzed newly released CDC data and identified which states had the highest rate of new cancer cases between 2010 and 2014.
The publication noted that the overall U.S. rate of new cancer cases during that time was 452 per 100,000 people, but cautioned that people shouldn't panic if their state is above that average.
"An important thing to know about cancer rates: The better a state is at screening for cancer, the more disease it will find; in other words, don't despair if your state happens to be in the top 20 list," the Reader's Digest report said.
The report also noted that state's with a high rate of cancer cases may not necessarily rank high in the rate of cancer deaths. "Your state could have a great track record of treating cancer and helping people survive," the magazine reported.
These, in ascending order, are the states with the highest rate of new cancer cases, according to Reader's Digest:
10. Rhode Island
480 cases per 100,000
The state has a high rate of lung cancer deaths, and its cancer death rate is 170 per 100,000, which is slightly higher than the national rate of 166, according to Reader's Digest, adding that the poor survival rates for lung cancer sufferers may explain the state's higher-than-average death rate.
9. Washington, D.C.
481 per 100,000
Prostate and breast cancer cases exceed the national average, while lung cancer cases are below. The cancer death rate is 179 per 100,000, the 12th worst in the nation, according to Reader's Digest.
8. Connecticut
485 per 100,000
The state is third in the nation in the rate of new breast cancer cases, behind only Washington, D.C., and New Hampshire. "However, Connecticut’s cancer death rate of 153 is below the national average and places it among the top 10 states for survival—seventh best overall," Reader's Digest said.
7. Louisiana
487 per 100,000
The state has the misfortune of having an industrial area along the Mississippi River known as "Cancer Alley." Louisiana's cancer death rate is also significantly higher than the national average, at 191 per 100,000.
6. New Jersey
488 per 100,000
One cancer-related issue in this state is the risk of radon in homes, with one in six homes in the state registering some level of contamination, according to Reader's Digest. The state's cancer death rate is below the national average, at 161 per 100,000.
5. New York
489 per 100,000
The state's prostate cancer rate of 137 per 100,000 is well above the national average of 115, according to Reader's Digest. But New York's death rate is at 158, below the national average.
4. New Hampshire
490 per 100,000
"The state’s high rate (of new cases) may be due, in part, to a push for early detection of breast cancer, which also may be why New Hampshire’s cancer death rate is right at the national average of 166," Reader's Digest reported.
3. Pennsylvania
494 per 100,000
The state's thyroid cancer rate has stood out for rising much faster than in the rest of the nation, and Penn State researchers suspect that the Three Mile Island incident in 1979 could be the cause, according to Reader's Digest. The state's death rate exceeds the national average at 174.
2. Delaware
504 per 100,000
Although high in the rate of new cancer cases, Delaware officials say they have been increasing efforts to screen residents.
1. Kentucky
521 per 100,000
In addition to having the highest cancer rate, Kentucky leads the nation in the cancer death rate, at 202 per 100,000, Reader's Digest said. Lung cancer is the most prevalent on the list, with a state new cases rate of 95 per 100,000, compared with a national average of 61.
The full report can be viewed here.
