Wednesday, October 21,1998 The Halifax Herald Limited


 By PAUL SCHNEIDEREIT / Staff Reporter

 Sydney residents are nearly 50 per cent more likely to develop cancer than the average Nova Scotian, says a new study to be released today.

"It's not just stomach cancer. It's not just lung cancer. It's not just breast cancer," says Judy Guernsey, the Dalhousie University scientist who headed the project.

"It's a whole range of cancers to which there seems to be an increased risk. And it's both women and men."

 From 1989-1995, Sydney females were 47 per cent and males 45 per cent more likely to develop some form of cancer than the average Nova Scotian.

Meanwhile, in surrounding communities (Dominion, Glace Bay, New Waterford, Sydney Mines and North Sydney), females had cancer rates 16 per cent and males 14 per cent higher than the provincial average.

 The magnitude of the findings in Sydney is significant, Ms. Guernsey said. "You certainly find an elevated risk like that for occupational populations, but it's rare to see this level of impact at a community level."

 What's causing the large increase in cancers in Sydneyrequires further study, she said.

 "We can't really draw conclusions," Ms. Guernsey said. "These data are only based on cancer registry statistics. We don't have information about occupation or lifestyle or environmental factors."

 The higher stomach-cancer rates are particularly interesting, Ms. Guernsey said, as previous studies have shown a connection between exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and cancer of the stomach. "There is the potential that there might be an environmental contribution there," she said.

 Both the infamous Sydney tar ponds - which contain 700,000 tonnes of toxic sludge including both PAHs and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) - and the heavily contaminated 150-hectare former coke ovens site have been blamed by many residents for the higher cancer rates.

 

Studies have shown lifestyle factors, such as poor diet and heavy smoking, also play a role in causing cancer. But, Ms. Guernsey said, the study's findings suggest "there seems to be more happening than just lifestyle."

 In September, two provincial cabinet ministers said lifestyle factors contribute to the higher cancer rates in the Sydney area.

 Overall, Ms. Guernsey said, cancer risk seems to be increasing, although her team did not specifically test for changes over time.

 "There was a general trend that in the most recent period, there was a slightly elevated risk compared to earlier periods."

 Ms. Guernsey is presenting the study for the first time at an international conference on agricultural safety and rural health in Saskatoon at 1 p.m. AST today.

 The study compares cancer-incidence rates in Sydney, industrial Cape Breton and Nova Scotia from 1979 to 1995. It includes both cancer survivors and victims.

 The $50,000 study was funded by the Electric Power Research Institute in California, approached by Ms.Guernsey after Health Canada refused to support the project in 1996. At that time, the newly formed Joint Action Group, a community-based organization tasked with overseeing the cleanup of the toxic waste site, announced its own plans for a health study.

 Ms. Guernsey said she is now looking for funding for a study of health outcomes for the nearly 28,000 former steelworkers who have worked in the area since 1898.

 "When we were involved earlier, we did collect the Sysco records," Ms. Guernsey said. "Right now the Sysco records are only on paper. We need to create a computer file."

 She said she hasn't decided whether to approach JAG for funding. In 1997, she said, JAG was contacted when the current study was in its early stages, but "basically we were told at that time that they weren't interested in our research."

 The steelworkers' study would be an important step towards finding out what's causing the high cancer rate in the Sydney area, she said.

 "There's still the future to think about, the future of this community. People who are growing who are being exposed. I think there's still time for intervention to be applied."

 The new study - The Risk of Cancer in Sydney, Cape Breton County, Nova Scotia 1979-1995 - is the first to look at cancer-incidence rates during that 16-year period, she said.

 Earlier studies concentrated on cancer-related deathrates, she said.

 "There are lots of people who do survive a diagnosis of cancer, so it really does give you a better picture," Ms. Guernsey said. "This is the first study that's absolutely documented the increased risk of cancer, looking at the diagnosis of cancer as opposed to cancer mortality."

 Last month, a Health Canada study named cancer as the top killer in the Sydney area.

 Earlier this year, a Statistics Canada study that analysed data between 1991 and 1993 said Nova Scotians were more likely to get cancer and more likely to die from cancer than the average Canadian.

And a 1993-95 mortality study released last year by Health Canada found Nova Scotia had the country's highest death rate from cancer.

Muggah Creek

CANCER FACTS

 Cancer incidence rates, per 100,000, 1989-1995

 MALES

 Nova Scotia: 418.1

 Ind. C.B. (ex. Sydney): 478.5

 Sydney: 613.4

 FEMALES

 Nova Scotia: 319.3

 Ind. C.B. (ex. Sydney): 370.5

 Sydney: 475.9

 

Selected cancer rates above N.S. average, 1989-1995, for Sydney:

 MALES

 Stomach: 78 per cent

 Colon and rectal: 77 per cent

 Brain: 68 per cent

 Prostrate: 40 per cent

 Bladder: 39 per cent

 Lung: 22 per cent

 

 FEMALES

 Stomach: 179 per cent

 Cervical: 134 per cent

 Brain: 72 per cent

 Breast: 57 per cent

 Lung: 40 per cent

  Cancer risk acute in Sydney

 Likelihood 45% higher - new study

Copyright © 1998 The Halifax Herald Limited


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