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This Month's e-Health Tip:
The Good News: Cancer rates are declining in the U.S.
Cancer defeated in our lifetime? It may be more than just a hope. The American Cancer Society says that in the new millennium our dreams of conquering cancer may become a reality.
Why the optimism now? The rate of new cancer cases and deaths from cancer declined between 1990 and 1997 in the United States, according to a new report published in the medical journal Cancer.
The greatest decline in cancer incidence rates has been among men, who long have had higher rates of cancer than women. Rates are going down for prostate cancer incidence and mortality. Since 1990, men also have become less likely to die from lung cancer, while lung cancer mortality continues to increase for females.
For women, the likelihood of getting breast cancer has remained about the same throughout the 90s. But breast cancer death rates have declined about 2 percent per year since 1990, and have dropped sharply since 1995.
Rates for melanoma (skin cancer) has continued to rise for both genders since 1981, but deaths have leveled off.
Colorectal cancer, which has the third highest incidence of any cancer site for both men women also has began decreasing steadily. Like incidence, deaths from colorectal cancer rank third after lung and prostate cancer for men and third after lung and breast cancer for women.
Why the decreases? The authors of the report suggest that screening and treatment advances are making the difference.
To learn more:
The National Cancer Institute
SEER home page (cancer statistics)
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Copyright © 2011. The Healthy Basket.
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