12:56 PM PDT on Monday, October 10, 2005

By AKIKO FUJITA / NWCN

KING

Ann McMurray says she never used hormone replacement therapy or lacked Vitamin D. She was diagnosed with breast cancer four years ago.

October is breast cancer awareness month, but health officials in Washington state say awareness isn’t the challenge this year – it’s prevention. Washington has the highest rate of breast cancer in the nation.

That rate isn’t anything new. Washington has had the highest ranking for three consecutive years now. Doctors at the Seattle Cancer Treatment and Wellness Center are among a number of those who are trying to figure out why.

Doctor Ben Chue has seen the troubling trend develop for years now, but he's only sure of one thing.

“Genetic predisposition to cancer is only thought to make up for 5 percent of breast cancer," said Chue, Seattle Cancer Treatment and Wellness Center.

Which is why he says he's puzzled by the number of patients with breast cancer in Washington.

Juliet VanEenwyck with the Washington State Health department reports 5,600 people battle the disease every year.

"We don't really know what causes breast cancer and we don't know what can be modified," said VanEenwyk, Washington State Epidemiologist.

That may be, but doctors across the state have their theories. The region's gloomy weather ranks at the top of the list.

"We live in a northern latitude that's cloudy a lot,” said VanEenwyck. “It may be that low levels of our Vitamin D are contributing to it."

Chue also points to hormone replacement therapy. He said women in Washington are more likely to rely on them during menopause and studies have proven the therapy has harmful side effects.

"There are absolutely good benefits to doing that but you have to weigh risks with benefits," said Chue.

Ann McMurray isn't convinced by those theories. She never used hormone replacement therapy or lacked Vitamin D. Still she was diagnosed with breast cancer four years ago.

“It's just a frightening thing for the doctors to tell you ‘You have cancer,’" said McMurray.

State health officials say they're not exactly frightened by the rates in Washington. They say "concerned" may be a better description.

"It's an interest but the amount of resources we're putting into it is very small,” said VanEenwyck.

VanEenwyck says the priority is to prevent breast cancer deaths.

Be sure to join KING 5’s Jean Enersen this Friday for a HealthLink special “Breast Cancer: Winning the Battle.”