Racial Cancer Disparities and the Impact of Failing to Achieve the Healthy People 2010 Cancer Mortality Goal

Nathan R. Jones, University of Wisconsin at Madison
Christa Fields, Spelman College
Patrick Remington, University of Wisconsin at Madison

Nearly a decade ago, the CDC’s Healthy People 2010 (HP2010) provided a national framework for health promotion by establishing goals to reduce the burden of disease. Eliminating health disparities and increasing quality of life were two main objectives set by HP2010. HP2010 set a goal to reduce cancer mortality to 159.9 deaths per 100,000 by 2010. The purpose of this study is to describe geographic and racial disparities in cancer mortality in the United States over ten years spanning the period between the establishment of the HP2010 objective for overall cancer rates and the revision of the plan for 2020. This study focuses on national progress meeting the goals outlined by HP2010 and explores the impact of racial cancer disparities between African Americans and whites.