Spring 2001
Cancer Librarians Section Newsletter

FYI - Cape Cod Breast Cancer and Environmental Atlas

Sharon Gray, who works for the Silent Spring Institute in Newton, MA, has sent an article about the work of the Institute that she thought our readers might find interesting. The Institute studies the links between women's health, especially breast cancer, and the environment.

Maps of Cape Cod's distinctive outline can be found everywhere -- on store signs, tee shirts and even jewelry. Silent Spring Institute is now making new Cape maps available in an electronic atlas at www.silentspring.org/atlas/atlas.htm. These maps provide a record of how the Cape has changed over the past fifty years and may include clues to environmental exposures that affect the health of its residents.

Silent Spring Institute, a non-profit research organization dedicated to studying the links between the environment and women's health, is using GIS in the Cape Cod Breast Cancer and Environment Study to look for preventable causes of breast cancer on Cape Cod. Over the next year the Institute will be using GIS to assess exposures in an epidemiologic study of 2,100 Cape Cod women with and without breast cancer.

Since this research began in 1994, GIS has been an important tool in enabling Silent Spring Institute to work closely with the community. At several public meetings the Institute has used paper and electronic maps to exchange information with the Cape community about breast cancer incidence, drinking water sources, pesticide use and historical land use. With the electronic atlas a wider audience can access this information.

This is especially timely now, because of active public discussion on the Cape about the impact of development, how best to protect the fragile environment, and how facilities and hazardous waste sites might be affecting health. The electronic atlas can graphically illustrate the rapid changes on the Cape over the past few decades and provide context to this discussion. In addition, it provides up-to-date information about the ongoing study of breast cancer and the environment.

The Cape Study GIS is currently the most comprehensive source of information about health and the environment on Cape Cod. By bringing together electronic data from many different sources, the Institute has created a rich resource for studying breast cancer and other health problems. The Institute has also incorporated in its GIS data mapped for the first time by its staff, such as the pesticide use areas shown in the atlas.

The atlas is designed to be easily updated and maintained by the Institute's staff without taking resources away from ongoing research. The graphics were created with ArcView and PaintShopPro. Atlas users can select a region or town to view information at the local level that is most meaningful to them. Links to other sections of the Institute's website include additional information and explanations such as how incidence is calculated. Over the next year as the Cape Study enters its exposure assessment and data analysis phase new information will be added to the atlas and website as it becomes available.