Slashdot Mirror


Fewer People Are Dying of Cancer Than Ever Before (theoutline.com)

The number of Americans dying of cancer has dropped to a 25-year low, equaling an estimated 2,143,200 fewer deaths in that period, says the new annual report from the American Cancer Society. In that time, the racial and gender disparities that exist in cancer rates have also narrowed somewhat, but they remain wide in many places. From a report on The Outline: Though the incidence of cancer remained stable for women and dropped slightly -- by 2 percent -- in men, rates remain overall 20 percent higher in men while rate of death for men is 40 percent higher than in women. The rates of both incidence and death vary wildly based on the type of cancer. The data that the ACS is using run through the end of 2014 for incidents of cancer and through 2013 for deaths. Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer death in the United States for both men and women..

4 of 210 comments (clear)

  1. Lung cancer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    14% of all new cancers are lung cancers. 90% of lung cancer is due to smoking. Stop smoking.

  2. Re:the outline is cancer by FatdogHaiku · · Score: 4, Informative

    Somebody trying to raise page views no doubt. There was a time it worked so well site got "slash dotted". Now, not so much. Here is the link that should have been used for this piece...
    http://www.cancer.org/cancer/news/news/cancer-facts-and-figures-death-rate-down-25-since-1991

    --
    You have the right to remain sentient. If you give up the right to remain sentient, you will be elected to public office
  3. Re:Propaganda? by geekmux · · Score: 3, Informative

    "The report estimates that the Affordable Care Act is working to reduce long-standing racial disparities in cancer rates."

    Has the ACA been around long enough to impact cancer rates? The law was passed in 2010 and it took quite a while to get the exchanges up and running, get people enrolled, and then get them to actually see a doctor.

    I have a hard time believing that in a few short years, the ACA could have a meaningful impact on cancer rates.

    This smells like propaganda.

    "The decline in deaths from cancer is attributed largely to the fact that fewer people smoke — from about 42 percent in 1965 to 17 percent in 2013..."

    That's because it is propaganda.

  4. Re:Of what are people dying now? by OrangeTide · · Score: 3, Informative

    Cars are the number #1 killer of teens. (ages 12-19)
    Cars are the number #1 killer of children. (ages 1-12)
    Heart disease is the #1 killer of adults. (I couldn't find data on the age range, I assume 20+)
    Congenital defects and complication of preterm birth nearly tying as the #1 killer of infants. (ages 1)

    --
    “Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire