Central Contra Costa County An "Area Of Concern" For Breast Cancer

A new statewide breast cancer mapping project identifies Central Contra Costa County -- including Walnut Creek, Concord, Pleasant Hill, Martinez and Lamorinda -- as “areas of concern.” Breast cancer rates were shown to be higher in those areas than the statewide breast cancer rates.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the mapping project, which uses U.S. census data instead of county health information, shows four areas of concern: two in Northern California and two others in Southern California.

The Northern California areas include Marin County, long identified as a major “cancer cluster,” but expands the area to include Napa, Solano and Contra Costa counties, where it was previously believed the breast cancer rate had stabilized in the past 10 years.

“The exact causes of breast cancer are not known,” according to a breast cancer report from the Contra Costa County Health Services Department. “However, several individual, familial and behavioral factors have been identified that appear to increase the chances of developing breast cancer.”

According to information from the Contra Costa County Health Department, the highest breast cancer death rate is in Concord, where between 2005-2007 (the latest figures available), there were 49 deaths, 11.8 percent of the 415 total countywide breast cancer fatalities during that period.

The second highest was Walnut Creek, with a total of 47 deaths, or 11.3 percent.

The chances of developing breast cancer increase with age, and most cases occur after menopause and in women 60 years and older. In Contra Costa County, white women are most likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer, but African American women are more likely to die from the disease.

Diet, exercise and access to health care are all seen as important ways to prevent breast cancer, and regular screening is important. Mammograms have detected breast cancer is up to 90 percent of women who otherwise showed no symptoms, health officials say.

“The five-year survival rate for female breast cancer is high overall but best if diagnosed early,” the county health department study says.

Here are the county’s latest breast cancer mortality figures: