Breast cancer is a particularly insidious threat in Missouri, where it kills women at a nearly 30% higher rate than the national average. A new Johns Hopkins University study focusing on the state – commissioned by the Kansas City-based Women’s Foundation – delves into the issue, examining such social factors as race, income, and urban-vs.-rural locale and the complicating impact of other chronic diseases on the survivability of breast cancer.

Kala Visvanathan, a cancer epidemiologist and practicing medical oncologist at Johns Hopkins who is part of the research team, discusses the findings. She looks, too, at the barriers to prevention and detection. The percentage of women in Missouri who have mammograms, for example, also lags behind the national rate (68% vs. nearly 74%).