Celeste brought up a good idea in her comment on my first blog about how it would be interesting to research if doctors are more inclined to diagnose certain cancers in certain areas because of environmental factors. I do not think it would be too broad, but it may, if I extended it to not only America but other cultures also.
Also, I have found a lot of articles with a brief google scholar search of the teen gap in cancer care. I am not sure if I would really be getting anywhere with this, but there is a lot of information on it. One article I found in “Current Opinion in Pediatrics” is about how adolescents with cancer are denied benefits of protocol inclusion and optimal supportive care. 70% of teens are not allowed treatment at institutions representing pediatric cooperative groups. Also teens are not allowed to participate in clinical trials. These aspects greatly impact the teens’ quality of care. The mortality rates in adolescents have not budged in years, this is now prompting scientists to further research. Why haven’t young adult cancers made the strides common in other age groups and what can be done about it? Interestingly, the Lance Armstrong Association is greatly involved in making progress in the research to minimize the gap in teen cancer care. "This is an unanswered question," Mackall says. "We don't know how much of it is biological or how much has to do with psychosocial and financial factors, including access to health care and treatment compliance. It's likely a collusion of several factors." Delays in diagnosing is making it harder to improve outcomes. It also has a lot to do with lack of insurance which prolongs diagnosis and also makes care afterwards not very good. Invincibility delays cancer diagnosis in teens. (social factors)
