Cancer Continues 25- Year Decline, but Wealth is a Health Factor
The US News article by Katelyn Newman discusses the decline of cancer and how salary and socioeconomic class has more to do with health than we are led to believe. While socioeconomic class will obviously determine the quality of healthcare, the mortality rate of those with cancer is affected by their surroundings and their country's, not just their or their families personal wealth. Mortality rates are said to be 20% higher in poorer countries as an overall trend regarding cancer between 2012 and 2016.
Wealth influencing healthcare is something that has been seen across the ages, but when the country itself and the environment comes into question, there are a few tweaks to the overall trend. During the Industrial Revolution, the air quality decreased rapidly as a result of the pollution and smog produced by the factory system and the use of coal as a new fuel source. Coal was used as a fuel source not only because it was less expensive and in abundance, but because there was a high demand for fuel for railroads, especially the Transcontinental Railroad. This pollution was both in the United States and in England, and both countries managed to treat those within in their country terribly as a result of their faltering economies. With extreme unbalance between the socioeconomic classes and low hospital funding from both governments, there was an extreme increase in mortality rates, and because all were at work (including women), there was a decrease in birth rates. This lowered the populations of both countries until they increased with the increasing popularity and exposure to the nuclear family (in popular culture).
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