Cancer clinic to open in Boston health center

BOSTON (AP) -- What has been called a first-of-its-kind cancer clinic is set to officially open in a Boston community health center.

The clinic is a partnership between the Whittier Street Health Center in the Roxbury neighborhood and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Officials plan to celebrate the opening on Monday.

Officials say the goal of the new facility is to address disparities in cancer cases among residents of inner-city urban neighborhoods.

A Boston Public Health Commission report in 2010 found black residents of the city had a 44 percent higher cancer mortality rate than white residents, and that breast cancer mortality rates for black women were twice that of white women. A mammography suite will be part of the clinic.

The facility is believed to be the first dedicated cancer clinic of its kind in a community health center.