News Photo by Crystal Nelson Fairview residents Cecilia Kunnath, left, and Jerry Kunnath speak about Jerry Kunnath’s battle with prostate cancer at Friends Together in Alpena.

ALPENA — Alpena and Montmorency counties have a higher number of new cancer cases compared to the state as a whole, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

The number of new cancer cases in Alcona and Presque Isle County were below the state rate, according to DHHS’s 2019 Michigan Cancer Atlas. It wasn’t immediately clear why rates were lower in those counties.

The higher rates in Alpena and Montmorency counties could be because people who live in rural areas tend to have more risk factors associated with cancer, such as obesity or smoking, according to Tom Rich, director of comprehensive cancer control at the American Cancer Society, Great Lakes Division. Rural residents also are less likely to have health insurance and less likely to get screenings when they are needed,

The state of Michigan saw 435.2 new cancer cases per 100,000 people, according to the Cancer Atlas. The rate was 450.7 in Alpena County, 474.5 in Montmorency County, 394.8 in Alcona County, and 416.8 in Presque Isle County.

Cancer mortality rates in Alpena, Montmorency, and Alcona counties also came in higher than the statewide rate of 166.9 per 100,000 people. Montmorency County had the highest overall cancer mortality rate, at 190.9 per 100,000 people. The rate was 171.7 in Alpena County and 168.2 in Alcona County.

Presque Isle County is the only county in the region to have lower cancer mortality rates than the statewide rate, with a mortality rate of 166.3 per 100,000 people. Presque Isle County also has fewer of the risk factors associated with cancer, such as fewer people living below the poverty line and more people having insurance.

Still, despite the risk factors and cancer rates, the mortality rate “for just about every type of cancer across the nation,” and also within the communities served by MidMichigan Health, are decreasing, according to Joan Herbert, director of the oncology service line at MidMichigan Health

She said increased screening rates means cancers are diagnosed earlier, when they are much more curable. She said there are also a lot of new treatments for specific tumors.

“We’re still diagnosing as many cancers as we have in the past, but patients are living so much longer,” Herbert said. “It’s really becoming more of a chronic disease in many cases — (as) opposed to a ‘get your affairs in order,’ terminal-type disease. So we’re seeing patients live a lot longer.”

RISK FACTORS

Rich, of the Cancer Society, said many factors go into cancer. Most cancer cases occur in people who are 60 and older, he said. Physical inactivity, obesity, and smoking are also linked to cancer and cancer-related deaths.

Many of those risk factors are prevalent in Northeast Michigan.

While 15.9% of all Michigan residents are 65 or older, 22% of residents in Alpena County, 35% of residents in Alcona County, 30.1% of residents in Montmorency County, and 29.3% of residents in Presque Isle County are 65 or older. Alcona County has the highest percentage of residents 65 or older in the state.

Herbert, of MidMichigan Health, said MidMichigan Medical Center-Alpena diagnosed and treated about 350 cancer patients in 2019. She said breast cancer, lung cancer, colorectal cancer, and prostate cancer accounted for between 80% and 85% of cancers diagnosed and treated there.

Herbert said certain types of cancers have risk factors associated with them. Smoking is linked to lung cancer, for example, and obesity is linked to breast cancer.

Those risk factors are also more prevalent in Northeast Michigan, with 23.6% of the adult population in the region smoking, 69.3% of the population considered obese, and 31.8% of adults reporting physical inactivity in the last month, according to the Cancer Atlas.

Herbert also noted that some cases of breast cancer — about 10% — are passed from generation to generation via a mutation of the BRCA gene.

‘I JUST GOT LUCKY’

Jerry Kunnath and his wife, Cecilia, know what it’s like to fight cancer in a rural region.

When they made the move from Royal Oak to Fairview, they did so knowing they would have to travel to the MidMichigan Cancer Center in Alpena for him to receive treatment.

Jerry Kunnath had been diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2016, which was treated by a combination of chemotherapy and radiation.

At the height of his treatment, the Kunnaths traveled to the hospital five days a week, making the 65-mile drive to and from the hospital each day.

The Kunnaths say they were fortunate to have good insurance and a reliable vehicle for transportation, but it was still a long way to drive.

Cecilia Kunnath said many people in their community don’t have health insurance. They’re just lucky to have a job, she said, much less a job that offers insurance. If people don’t have money for a car, they can’t get to a doctor’s office, she said.

“A lot of them just don’t go to the doctor, so they get things that maybe have progressed a bit further than maybe they would have had they been able to go to the doctor sooner,” Cecilia Kunnath said.

Jerry Kunnath completed his radiation and chemo in the beginning of 2019, but still travels to Alpena for some treatment. Because his cancer was so aggressive, he could have been gone in 18 months.

He considers himself lucky to be here three years later.

He’s also had support from his wife and from the guys he’s met at the Friends Together support group he attends.

“I just got lucky, knock on wood,” he said. “So far, it doesn’t look like (the cancer) went anywhere else.”

Crystal Nelson can be reached at 989-358-5687 or cnelson@thealpenanews.com.