The UF Health Cancer Center serves diverse communities in North Central Florida, providing exceptional care, engaging in groundbreaking research and fostering transdisciplinary collaborations to ensure that those residing within our 23‑county catchment area — from the farmlands of Live Oak, to the coastal waters of Apalachicola Bay — have access to world class cancer care.

This Catchment Area Profile, prepared by UF Health Cancer Center Office of Community Outreach and Engagement, provides a glimpse of the factors related to cancer health outcomes, both in terms of burdens or barriers, but it also identifies some of the assets and successes within.

Our intended audience is the Cancer Center researchers who do basic, clinical and cancer control and population science research. The aim is to give them access to current data so that they can design studies that are as relevant as possible to our catchment area.

Our catchment area is distinguished by its large rural population and high rates of socioeconomic vulnerability, particularly among minority groups as well as an aging population. The region is also characterized by high rates of smoking, obesity and late‑stage cancer diagnosis compared with the rest of Florida and the U.S.