Cancer rates in Columbia Falls near state, national averages
Top 15 cancer sites in Columbia Falls and Montana, 2006 to 2015. Data provided by the Montana Department of Public Health and Health Services and Montana Cancer Control Programs.
Eat your veggies, manage stress, and start exercising to beat the odds: statistics show that cancer affects half of all men and a third of all women.
“It is pretty likely for someone to develop some kind of cancer in their lifetime,” state cancer specialist Heather Zimmerman said in a recent interview.
Zimmerman and Laura Williamson, another specialist, explained that every type of cancer has a different cause, because the affected cells have different characteristics. The most common forms of cancer in Montana, and the whole United States, are breast cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer, and colorectal cancer.
In Flathead County, there was a statistically significant difference in the number of 2006-2015 incidences — new cases — of prostate cancer, compared to the rest of the state. But Zimmerman and Williamson said this isn’t necessarily indicative of less healthy prostates in the Flathead.
It’s more reflective of clinical care practices and a potential overdiagnosis of prostate cancer, they suggested.
Additionally, for smaller areas like counties and cities, a smaller sample of people makes statistical analyses more difficult and much less accurate.
In Columbia Falls, the rates of prostate cancer are slightly higher than the Montana average, at 18.7 percent versus the statewide average of 15 percent.
Incidents of breast cancer, colorectal cancer, and melanomas are somewhat lower in Columbia Falls than the state average. These are among the most common forms of cancer in the country.
Brain and other central nervous system cancers are more common in Columbia Falls than the rest of the state, but pancreatic cancer is less prevalent.
Despite these small differences in various types of cancer, though, Zimmerman and Williamson said people in Columbia Falls and the Flathead Valley don’t demonstrate a statistically significant difference in overall cancer rates.
Many cancers have a genetic component, so a family history can certainly be a risk factor.
Environmental factors like smoking or even continued exposure to secondhand smoke can also increase the level of risk for lung cancer and other types of the disease.
More research on specific local cases would be necessary to determine the actual cancer risks and rates in Columbia Falls, Zimmerman and Williamson concluded.