Some Good News on September 11th

According to a recent press release:

Having at least some education beyond high school is associated with a decreased risk of dying from cancer among black and white men and women, according to a study published online September 11 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Race and socioeconomic status are well-established as predictors of cancer mortality in the U.S. Jessica Albano of the American Cancer Society in Atlanta and colleagues used data collected from death certificates and the U.S. Bureau of the Census to examine the associations between education level and mortality rates from lung, breast, prostate, and colorectal cancers. The data included 137,708 cancer deaths that occurred in 2001 among black and white men and women between the ages of 25 and 64.

Higher education levels were associated with decreased cancer mortality among black and white men and white women. The difference in mortality for all groups was greatest between those with 12 or fewer years of education and those with more than 12 years. These differences likely reflect relationships between education and other factors that are more directly associated with risks of developing and dying from cancer, such as tobacco use, cancer screening, and access to healthcare.

If we're increasing premiums for smokers and the obese there doesn't seem to be any legitimate reason to not increase insurance costs for the poor and uneducated. After all they end up costing the insurance system and the federal government much much more than the wealthier, skinnier and educated folk. I don't quite understand why the wealthy have to continually pay for the problems of the poor. Let's have some self-respect people! Fix your situation, go to school and go on a god damned diet!