DeSoto Parish Ranks High On List of Parishes With the Highest Cancer Rates in Louisiana

Multiple North Louisiana Parishes check in on a recent study to find the Louisiana Parishes with the highest cancer rates. Including DeSoto Parish, Webster Parish, and Caddo Parish.

Does Louisiana Have A "Cancer Alley"?

Cancer rates are extremely important to track across the country, because so many manmade factors can contribute to the spread. Louisiana is a state that has faced that harsh reality head-on. The state is known for housing "Cancer Alley", a stretch of double-digit parishes where the cancer rates far exceed other geographical location.

Parts of Louisiana have exceeded the amount of cancer-causing pollutants allowed by the US Government's own standards. This is reflected in the rates of cancer and other related diseases in the residents of these areas.

Where Is "Cancer Alley"?

While "Cancer Alley" is located in South Louisiana, it doesn't mean that the state's cancer concerns are limited to that region. North Louisiana has their own issues when it comes to cancer rates. Where data shows that some specific neighborhoods can have cancer rates that far exceed surrounding areas.

Shocking Cancer Rates In Shreveport

Like research that shows the Cedar Grove neighborhood in Shreveport has rates that exceed the rest of Caddo Parish. The rates for this neighborhood were so high in some research that they were labeled as an "outlier" in the dataset.

In a state like Louisiana, who has a cancer rate 40% higher than the national average, being listed as an "outlier" for having too high of a rate is extremely scary.

Most Of Louisiana Has Higher Cancer Rates Than The National Average

While there are multiple different ways to splice the data for rankings (using the whole number, breaking it out per 100 residents, using only cancer-related deaths, etc) there's not way to shake that Louisiana has a massive cancer problem. Some research shows there are only a handful of Parishes in the state that are BELOW the national average for cancer rate. We mean single-digit numbers.

Lets take a look at rankings, using one of the most up-to-date 5-year periods we have access to, and allow for age-adjusted numbers to be considered. Trying to make the data as fair as possible, here's The 50 Parishes With the Highest Cancer Rates in Louisiana...