Community Breast Cancer Mapping in Huntington, Long Island

Abstract

The Huntington Breast Cancer Action Coalition (HBCAC) recently completed a survey of town residents regarding breast cancer. This chapter reviews how this community group relied upon a network of volunteers and community goodwill to survey local breast cancer patterns and the issues HBCAC confronted in mapping those results. The chapter explains how community-mapping projects differ from mapping projects directed by scientists, private corporations and government agencies. Community organizations often approach maps with different perspectives and goals than these traditional mapping agencies. This chapter emphasizes the significance of the community perspective for understanding and addressing breast cancer. HBCAC is using ESRI’s ArcView software to map breast cancer patterns and to overlay various environmental themes, such as local toxic sites, to better understand local breast cancer patterns.