Map Tracks Incidences of Cancer Throughout New York State
New York unveiled what it billed as the nation’s first comprehensive statewide cancer map, which became available Monday on the Web site of the State Department of Health.
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Not that the Health Department is doing so eagerly. The creation of the map was opposed by both the department and the American Cancer Society when it was proposed two years ago, according to a review of state records, amid concerns that its unfiltered data could be misinterpreted.
State officials were forced to create the map when the Legislature voted in support of it, and Gov. David A. Paterson sided against his own administration in signing the legislation.
The interactive map allows users to see the count of incidences of various types of cancer in different census blocks, which can number in the thousands of people in New York City or fewer than a hundred in upstate counties. For instance, randomly highlighting a four-square-block chunk
Tarps of Brooklyn, between Henry and Court Streets and Second and Fourth Places, shows 23 cases of cancer out of 1,195 residents, with pancreatic and uterine cancers the most prevalent.
The map also allows users to overlay potentially hazardous sites nearby, including brownfields, superfund sites or buildings in which chemicals are stored. The sponsors of the legislation that created the cancer map argue that the public should be allowed access to the information, since it is compiled by the state. But they repeatedly cautioned that it represents raw data, merely presenting a count of cancer incidences, and should be interpreted with care.
For instance, if the map were oriented on top of a nursing home, it would be expected to show a higher than normal instance of cancer, but it would not represent some kind of “cancer cluster.” There is also no adjustment for the age of the population or a number of other factors, like whether cases of lung cancer were attributable to environmental factors or smoking.
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