Coastal Fukushima women late in checking breast cancer suspicions since 3/11: study
From the Japan Times:
Women along Fukushima’s northern coastline have been waiting longer to consult doctors about breast cancer suspicions since March 2011, according to a study by a local doctor.
Ever since the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis, the ratio of women seeking consultations more than three months after noticing breast cancer symptoms rose to 29.9 percent, compared with 18.0 percent before the calamity, the study found.
Many who consulted a doctor about symptoms did so only after being encouraged by family members, the study found.
The rise in single-person and elderly households caused by the nuclear evacuation is believed to be driving the trend.
The study was conducted by Akihiko Ozaki, a doctor at Minamisoma Municipal General Hospital in Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture, who noticed that many women began visiting him only after their symptoms had progressed.
July 5, 2017