Cancer deaths continue steady decline, but battle far from over

Cancer Deaths Declining in U.S.

Cancer deaths in the United States are decreasing but cancer is still the number one cause of death among those younger than 85, a yearly report from the American Cancer Society showed.

According to the Cancer Statistics, 2011 and Cancer Facts & Figures, 2011 report, about 1,596,670 people will be diagnosed with the disease this year and there will be approximately 570,000 cancer deaths.

Among men, the fatality rate dropped by 22 percent in the period 1990 - 2007. Meanwhile, there was a 14 percent decline in cancer deaths among women for the same period.

There have been fewer cancer deaths among men who were diagnosed with lung, prostate and colorectal malignancies. Among women, the death rates of breast and colorectal cancer have been reduced.

Early detection, better treatment and lifestyle changes have been credited as factors for the decrease in cancer deaths. Men's declining habit of smoking have led to the reduction of lung cancer fatalities. A late but similar pattern has been observed among women who took up smoking later than men but are now also kicking the habit.

The American Cancer Society warned that despite the promising trend of declining death rates, more needs to be done to combat the deadly disease.

"Further progress can be accelerated by applying existing cancer control knowledge across all segments of the population with an emphasis on those groups in the lowest socioeconomic bracket," the report says.

For both men and women in the U.S., lung cancer is still the primary cause of cancer deaths, followed by prostate cancer among men and breast cancer in women.

Posted by George Daniels on Monday June 20 2011, 6:47 AM EST. Ref: LA Times. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Health. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0