Using
cancer registry data, we focus on racial and ethnic disparities in stage of
breast cancer diagnosis in Cook County, IL. The county health system is the "last resort" health-care provider for
low-income persons. Socioeconomic status is measured using
empirical Bayes estimates of tract-level
poverty, specific to non-Hispanic whites, non-Hispanic blacks or Hispanics in one of three age groups. We use ordinal
logistic regression with non-proportional
odds to model stage. Blacks and Hispanics are at greater risk for regional and distant stage diagnosis, but the disparity declines with age. Women in high-poverty areas are at substantially greater risk for late-stage diagnosis. The effects of
poverty do not differ by age or across racial and ethnic groups.
