Look at this to check your cancer risk

If you want to know what type of cancer you are most at risk for, take a look at your paycheck. While both rich and poor get cancer, the kind of cancer that presents the highest risk for you could depend on how much you earn and the affluence of your neighborhood.

According to a study at New York State Cancer Registry, people living in areas with the most poverty are more likely to get Kaposi sarcoma and cancers of the larynx, cervix, and liver.

People in wealthier areas are more likely to suffer melanoma, thyroid, other non-epithelial skin and testicular cancers.

“At first glance, the effects (of economic status) seem to cancel one another out. But the cancers more associated with poverty have lower incidence and higher mortality, and those associated with wealth have higher incidence and lower mortality,” says researcher Francis Boscoe.

You should also know that certain areas of the country have what are called “cancer clusters.” These are areas where, according to the Centers for Disease Control “the occurrence of a greater than expected number of cancer cases among a group of people in a defined geographic area over a specific time period.”

If you suspect that you live someplace where there seems to be an inordinate number of people with cancer, or one type of cancer, you can visit these sites to report, and get more information:

• Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR): http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov

The CDC’s ATSDR conducts public health assessments of potentially hazardous waste sites, performs health consultations on specific hazardous substances, designs and conducts health surveillance programs, and provides education and training about hazardous substances.

• National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH): http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/clusters

The NCEH website includes general information about cancer clusters, links to resources, and answers to frequently asked questions.

• National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH): http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/hhe

The HHE Program of CDC’s NIOSH investigates potentially hazardous working conditions, including suspected cancer clusters.