By Kathianne Boniello
Women in Queens and across the state became the first in the nation to see the breast cancer rates of their specific communities last week when the state Department of Health released maps giving statistics for the disease by ZIP code.
Douglaston, Floral Park, Bay Terrace, and parts of Fresh Meadows, Queens Village and Flushing all had higher-than-expected rates of breast cancer between 1993 and 1997, according to the state maps. A large part of northwestern Queens, including Astoria, Long Island City and Sunnyside, had lower-than-expected rates of the disease during that time as did southeastern parts of the borough.
A spokeswoman said the DOH has received more than 150,000 calls about the maps and more than 10,000 hits on the agency
