Cancer is relatively more common in the villages of Kerkenveld, Noordscheschut, Hollandscheveld and Elim than in the rest of Drenthe. Lung cancer is particularly common in Elim and Hollandscheveld: over thirty percent.
Certain types of cancer occur ten percent more than average, according to the cancer atlas of the Comprehensive Cancer Center of the Netherlands (IKNL). Thyroid cancer and skin cancer are also major culprits in the municipality, more than 30 percent of the diagnoses made appear to be thyroid cancer. This can be the result of different lifestyles.
The atlas is based on analyzes of data from the Dutch Cancer Registry in the period 2011 to 2020. The document shows per zip code whether the number of cancer diagnoses in an area was higher, lower or equal to the Dutch average in that period. The interactive atlas of the IKNL is here to read.
Cervical cancer is also a common cancer in the province. But this variant can mainly be found in the head of Drenthe. For some cancer types, the differences within the province are relatively small. For example, esophageal cancer is diagnosed relatively often, more than in the rest of the country. Incidentally, Drenthe does not only have negative outliers, as can be seen from the cancer map. In all regions mapped, mesothelioma (cancer in the pleura) and liver and bile duct cancer is much rarer compared to the rest of the Netherlands.