Cancer Deaths On The Decline
About 3,000 fewer people died from cancer in the United States from 2003 to 2004, the American Cancer Society reported on Wednesday.
It said the big decrease shows that not only has the death rate from cancer been reversed -- but it has been reversed so much that fewer people are dying, even though the population of elderly people, who are most susceptible to cancer, is growing.
Cancer death rates have been declining for a long time. The declines have now outpaced the growth and aging of the population," Elizabeth Ward, director of surveillance research for the American Cancer Society, said in a telephone interview.
She said a small decline seen in the previous report had grown considerably, showing the trend was real.
The biggest fall in deaths was seen in colorectal cancer, the second-leading cause of U.S. cancer deaths, which will affect 112,000 people in 2007 and kill 52,000.
"Colorectal cancer really stands out," Ward said.
"There was a drop in both men and women, both a drop in mortality rates and in cancer incidence." The death rate from colon cancer fell by 5.7 percent in 2003-2004 from the previous year.
In 2004, 553,888 people died from cancer, compared to 556,902 in 2003. Fewer people died from the four leading cancers -- lung, breast, prostate, and colorectal cancer -- with the exception of lung cancer in women.
The five-year survival rate for all cancer patients between 1996 and 2002 was 66 percent, the group said. That compares to 51 percent between 1975 and 1977.
The four leading causes of cancer in the United States are:
-- Lung cancer, which will be detected in 213,000 people in 2007 and kill 160,000
-- Prostate cancer, which will be diagnosed in 218,000 men and kill 27,000
-- Breast cancer, which will be found in 180,510 men and women and kill 40,900
-- Colon cancer, which will be diagnosed in 112,000 people and kill 52,000.
The statistics do not include skin cancers known as squamous and basal cell carcinoma, which affect a million people a year.
The full report is available on the Internet at http://www.cancer.org/statistics.
It said the big decrease shows that not only has the death rate from cancer been reversed -- but it has been reversed so much that fewer people are dying, even though the population of elderly people, who are most susceptible to cancer, is growing.
Cancer death rates have been declining for a long time. The declines have now outpaced the growth and aging of the population," Elizabeth Ward, director of surveillance research for the American Cancer Society, said in a telephone interview.
She said a small decline seen in the previous report had grown considerably, showing the trend was real.
The biggest fall in deaths was seen in colorectal cancer, the second-leading cause of U.S. cancer deaths, which will affect 112,000 people in 2007 and kill 52,000.
"Colorectal cancer really stands out," Ward said.
"There was a drop in both men and women, both a drop in mortality rates and in cancer incidence." The death rate from colon cancer fell by 5.7 percent in 2003-2004 from the previous year.
In 2004, 553,888 people died from cancer, compared to 556,902 in 2003. Fewer people died from the four leading cancers -- lung, breast, prostate, and colorectal cancer -- with the exception of lung cancer in women.
The five-year survival rate for all cancer patients between 1996 and 2002 was 66 percent, the group said. That compares to 51 percent between 1975 and 1977.
The four leading causes of cancer in the United States are:
-- Lung cancer, which will be detected in 213,000 people in 2007 and kill 160,000
-- Prostate cancer, which will be diagnosed in 218,000 men and kill 27,000
-- Breast cancer, which will be found in 180,510 men and women and kill 40,900
-- Colon cancer, which will be diagnosed in 112,000 people and kill 52,000.
The statistics do not include skin cancers known as squamous and basal cell carcinoma, which affect a million people a year.
The full report is available on the Internet at http://www.cancer.org/statistics.
posted by Sonya M. | 12:43 PM
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