CT Combats Cancer Rates with Education

Connecticut has the second highest rate of female breast cancer and 14th highest rate of uterine cancer in the nation, and the state's death rates for ovarian and uterine cancers exceed those of most other states, according to the state Department of Public Health.  Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer deaths in Connecticut.  The department received a $26,361 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in 2011 to support an initiative to educate health care providers on hereditary cancers for which national recommendations for genetic counseling and testing exist.  The effort is part of the state agency's Healthy People 2020 Action Project.