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KBIA’s Health & Wealth Desk covers the economy and health of rural and underserved communities in Missouri and beyond. The team produces a weekly radio segment, as well as in-depth features and regular blog posts. The reporting desk is funded by a grant from the University of Missouri, and the Missouri Foundation for Health.Contact the Health & Wealth desk.

Rural women diagnosed later

Faustine Williams

Women in rural Missouri are more likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer at a late stage than women in urban or suburban counties. In this weekly Health & Wealth update, the urban / rural disparity in breast cancer detection. 

Women who have to travel up to 75 miles to get a screening are ten percent more likely to be diagnosed with late stage breast cancer, according to new research by Faustine Williams, a doctoral candidate in the MU department of rural sociology. 

Williams used mapping software to calculate the distance patients would have to travel to screening centers, using cancer statistics from the Missouri Department of Health.

Williams says the research is preliminary. Future work will look into differences in age, race, and socio-economic status.