What is Breast Cancer?

According to a definition from the National Cancer Institute’s website, breast cancer is:

“Cancer that forms in tissues of the breast, usually the ducts (tubes that carry milk to the nipple) and lobules (glands that make milk). It occurs in both men and women, although male breast cancer is rare.” (http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/breast)

In the United States in 2008:

	New cases: 182,460 (female); 1,990 (male)
	Deaths: 40,480 (female); 450 (male)

What is Mammography?

According to the FDA Website:

“Mammography is a type of medical imaging that uses x-rays to capture images (mammograms) of the internal structures of the breasts. Quality mammography can help detect breast cancer in its earliest, most treatable stages – when it is too small to be felt or detected by any other method.” (http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/radhealth/products/mammography.html)

Risks:

“Mammography uses x-rays to produce an image of the breast, and the patient is exposed to a small dose of radiation.”

Benefits:

“The benefits of mammography in detecting breast cancer at an early stage outweigh the risks of radiation exposure. In some cases, early detection of a breast lump may mean that chemotherapy is unnecessary.”

I am studying the location of mammography facilities in New Jersey in relation to several factors including race, income, and age.

Please have a look around at the various maps. All of the maps posted here were created using the ArcGIS software from ESRI and the data was taken from the FDA Website (www.fda.gov) and the NJ DEP Website (www.state.nj.us/dep).