Breast Cancer Relative Incidence by ZIP Code on Long Island

The Breast Cancer Relative Incidence by ZIP Code on Long Island map shows variations in the ratio of observed to expected incidence of the cancer by ZIP Code over a 5-year period. The expected incidence is the number of women in a given ZIP Code that would be anticipated to develop breast cancer assuming that the ZIP Code had the same rate of the cancer as New York State as a whole. The breast cancer rate for the entire state and the number of women in each ZIP Code were used to estimate the expected incidence. Age and population size also were taken into account because more people would be expected to develop cancer in a ZIP Code with a larger population or a higher percentage of older residents.

The percentages in the map’s color-coded legend reflect differences between the observed number of breast cancer cases that actually occurred in that ZIP Code over the time period divided by expected incidence of the cancer. For example, a ZIP Code that is “within 15% of expected” means that the observed number of breast cancer cases divided by the expected number of cases for that ZIP Code was in the range of being 15% higher or lower than the expected number of cases for New York State as a whole.

Breast Cancer Relative Incidence by ZIP Code on Long Island (1993-1997)

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Observed # of newly diagnosed cases by ZIP Code Expected # of newly diagnosed cases in New York State

The calculations used to create this map are by the New York State Department of Health Cancer Surveillance Improvement Initiative II (CSI II) and are based on data from the New York Cancer Registry. Note: The locations of individual women with breast cancer are not shown to protect their privacy and confidentiality.

Learn more about breast cancer and the relationship between cancer and the environment.