Cancer Death Rates Falling, More Than 1M Saved

By Benge Nsenduluka, CP Reporter Thursday, January 05, 2012

The American Cancer Society's annual report has revealed that cancer-related deaths have dropped in the United States.

An article by Stacy Simon posted on the organization's website, suggests that although 1,638,910 new cancer cases are expected in 2012, cancer deaths are steadily declining.

Death rates for men fell by 1.8 percent, and 1.6 percent for women in 2008 compared to rates in 2004.

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"The big news this year is that cancer deaths are still going down," said Dr. Raymond DuBois of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, according to Mail Online.

Although the ACS report anticipates 577,190 cancer-related deaths will occur in 2012, experts insist that new figures show progress is being made in the global fight against Cancer.

According to the report, race plays a significant part in a person's determination of diagnosis and survival.

Overall cancer death rates have been reduced by an average of one percent comparatively amongst most racial groups.

Blacks are said to have lower survival rates after cancer has been diagnosed, compared to their white counterparts which some attribute to weight and access to health care.

Despite this, the report found that the most significant decline in cancer deaths was present in minorities, particularly that of black and Hispanic men.

The cancer death rate among Black men fell by 2.4 percent, and among Hispanic men by 2.3 percent.

The report also confirmed that while cancer is the second-most common cause of death in children under the age of 15, the death rate has significantly dropped.

The childhood cancer death rate has been reduced by over 50 percent in the past 30 years.

This has dropped from 4.9 percent in 1975 to 2.2 percent in 2008.

The overall decline in cancer deaths has been linked to advanced medical care and improved education about the disease.

It is understood that more than one million cancer deaths have been prevented in two decades.