The two leading causes of death by disease in the United States are cancer and heart disease. Together, they accounted for nearly half of all deaths in 2008, the latest year for which data was available, according to a Center for Disease Control (CDC) report. Med Page Today tells us that while heart disease was first with 25% of all deaths, cancer was second with 23% that year. Both diseases showed lower percentages amongst women than men. Mortality rates amongst cancer patients for men were 24%, while they were 21.7% for women.
For 2014, a total of 1,665,540 new adult cases with 585,720 adult deaths were projected to occur. Statistics from the same report showed that cancer was the number one disease killer of children in America. A prediction of 1 in 330 children developing cancer by the age of 20 was also made that year. Updated figures revealed that 15,780 young people (past infancy to 19 years of age)developed the illness, and 1,960 succumbed to it.
According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), “The number of Americans with a history of cancer is growing due to the aging and growth of the population, as well as improving survival rates.”
On January 1, 2014, nearly 14.5 million U.S. citizens with a cancer history were alive. This number did not include carcinoma in situ (non-invasive or non-metastasized forms) of any site except urinary bladder. The number also did not include basal and squamous skin cell cancers. The society continues, “It is estimated that by January 1, 2024, the population of cancer survivors will increase to almost 19 million: 9.3 million males and 9.6 million females.”
In fact, the ACS annual report shows the U.S. cancer death rate to have been declining steadily over the past two decades. From 1991 to 2010 (the most recent year data was available), the death rate fell 20% for both men and women. This 20% decline means about 1,340,400 cancer deaths were avoided during this time period.
The majority of survivors (64%) were diagnosed 5 or more years ago with 15% diagnosed 20 or more years ago. Another informative statistic comes from the ACS: “Almost half (45%) of cancer survivors are 70 years of age or older, while only 5% are younger than 40 years.”
Lung, colon, prostate, and breast cancers account for half of the total cancer deaths among men and women. More than 1 in 4 deaths is due to lung cancer. Amongst men, prostate cancer occurs in 1 in 4 newly diagnosed cases. Indeed, the American Cancer Society reveals the three most common cancers among male survivors to be prostate (43%), colon and rectum (9%), and melanoma (8%). Amongst women, breast cancer alone is expected to account for 29% of new cases. The most common cancers among female survivors are breast (41%), uterine corpus (8%), and colon and rectum (8%).
Mayo Clinic’s Health Letter (April, 2015) states that “Colon cancer is diagnosed in about 135,000 Americans each year, and about 52,000 Americans die of colon cancer each year. For nonsmokers, it’s the top cause of cancer death.” The news letter adds “An unfortunate fact behind this statistic is that about a third of American adults aren’t up to date on screening tests for colon cancer…If everyone were up to date, it’s estimated that 60 percent of colon cancer deaths could be avoided.” A pre-cancerous growth called a polyp may be removed early in its development during the colonoscopy procedure.
“This is a screening test that really works!” state our Centegra Wellness Employees.
The Cancer Journal for Clinicians, published January 7, 2014, does tell us good news about the total number of new colon and lung cancer cases actually having decreased in recent years. There does appear to be a recently increasing number of colonoscopy screenings. This has largely led to the declining number of new colon cancers by more than 4% per year from 2008 to 2010. Similarly, the lessening number of people smoking has largely contributed to the decrease in new lung cancer cases. From the mid-1980s with men and from the late 1990s with women, large patterns of reduced tobacco use have been noted.
Part 2: The American Cancer Society tells us All About Cancer for July 2nd Publication
