Significantdifferences in cancer incidence between urban and rural women have been
reported and for the same type of cancer, rural women are generally diagnosed
at a later stage and have decreased survival rates as opposed to their urban
counterparts. This has been shown for cancers such as breast, colo-rectum in
both developed and developing countries. Rural women may suffer significant
inequalities in terms of access to medical care and health awareness and these
women tend to be less educated with lower economic means. Poorer hygienic
conditions tend to aggravate physical threats in rural areas. Conversely,
mechanized life-style, stress and air pollution are more widespread in urban
environment.
Currently,lifestyle homogenization, particularly in developed countries, and the
increased opportunities to healthcare access in rural population, has led to a
minimal difference in cancer pattern. However, within Asia, large differences
in cancer pattern are found between urban and rural population. Incidence rates
of cancers such as cervix uteri, esophagus, stomach etc. are generally low in
urban than rural population. In contrast to this, cancers such as breast,
corpus uteri, ovary, colo-rectum etc. incidence rates are higher in urban than
rural.
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