Cancer incidence and mortality are often higher in rural compared to urban and suburban areas, and evidence suggests this disparity is widening. Rural communities tend to experience lower screening rates, increased incidence, later stage at detection, poorer survival, and higher mortality. Many of these communities have higher poverty rates and are medically underserved with disparately high cancer burden.
For more in-depth background on rural cancer health disparities, please download: State of Illinois Department of Public Health–Center for Rural Health Annual Report for 2018