According to a study, 3,000 Mainers died of cancer last year.
By Lindsay Tice
Staff Writer

Maine has one of the worst cancer tracking and reporting systems in the country, according to a national nonprofit group.

In a report released two weeks ago, the Trust for America’s Health examined how well 35 states tracked and used cancer rate information. The group gave Maine a “D” for its system, saying the state didn’t use or apply cancer data well enough.

It said Maine could do more to prevent the disease.

“Having good data lets you give good answers, instead of guesses,” said Shelley Hearne, executive director of the health advocacy group. “You’re going to save lives, save money and save public health.”

Cancer tracking and reporting systems help identify who is getting cancer, what types of cancer have been diagnosed most and where cases have been reported. Among other things, the data can show health and government groups which populations to target for cancer screenings.

“There are a lot of good stories out there if you tackle cancer early,” Hearne said.

Maine’s cancer registry was established in the 1980s. Most of the information comes from hospitals, doctors, pathology reports and death certificates.

The Trust for America’s Health commended Maine for making strides in tracking cancer rates. But the group found problems: The state needs more real-time reporting of childhood cancers, and it needs to do a thorough review of the registry and to make cancer data more available to the public. The state should also spend more money on the registry so it could make better use of its data.

“By connecting those dots you’ve got some easy wins out there,” Hearne said.

According to the group, about 3,000 people died of cancer in Maine last year. It was the second leading cause of death in the state. Heart disease was the first.

Barbara Leonard, community health director for the Maine Bureau of Health, acknowledged that the Maine Cancer Registry is behind on its reporting. National standards say states should be reporting data no more than two years old. Leonard said Maine’s information is three years old.

“The one piece we’re missing is timelines,” she said.

The registry was under staffed, which contributed to the lag, Leonard said. But the state recently hired another person and should be able to get the registry back on track in the next several months.

Megan Hannan, government relations director at the American Cancer Society’s New England Division, pointed out that the state has also had some problems with the quality of its cancer data. A cancer patient’s ethnicity is sometimes incorrectly reported in Maine, if it’s reported at all.

But despite those issues, both Leonard and Hannan believe the state is doing a pretty good job.

Registry data is being used in a five-year cancer control plan. It is part of the Healthy Maine 2010 project. And the state is looking at a grant that would allow it to link cancer data with environmental health data, making it possible, for example, to tell what role arsenic and well water play in certain types of cancer.

“I do think we’re applying it well,” Leonard said.

The health group gave 27 states, including Massachusetts and New Hampshire, an A or a B for their cancer tracking and reporting. Three states got a C. Three received a D.

Mississippi was the only state to receive a failing grade.

ltice@sunjournal.com

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