Encouraging good news from the front line of cancer treatment and survival. Rates are in the increase!
"Cancer deaths in the United States fell 2.2 per cent from 2016 to 2017 — the largest single-year drop ever recorded —fuelled in large part by progress against lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer death, the American Cancer Society (ACS) reported Wednesday"
"Overall, cancer death rates in the United States fell 29 per cent from 1991 to 2017, driven by steady drops in deaths from lung, colorectal, breast and prostate cancers, according to the Society's annual report on cancer rates and trends published in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians."
"The report shows a continued striking decline in overall cancer mortality in the United States," Dr. Ned Sharpless, director of the National Cancer Institute, said in a telephone interview with Reuters Health. "That trend shows no sign of abating."
Study co-author Rebecca Siegel, scientific director of surveillance research at the ACS, attributes that to a doubling in improvement in deaths from lung cancer, which fell 4 per cent in the study period. Lung cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States behind heart disease.
Read the Article: Cancer death rate in U.S. shows large one-year drop
The articles within this article Canada's lung, colon cancer survival rates among highest of developed nations studied Social Sharing and Blood cancer survival rates in Canada on the rise, report finds also offer good news about our countries improved survival rates in several cancer types, and where more work needs to be concentrated.
As many of us are aware, the first article states "The Canadian Partnership Against Cancer, one of the funders of the research, said while Canada's overall average survival generally compares well, there was often more disparity among the provinces than across the countries. The group said it strives to promote equity of access to quality cancer care". If you fall into this category, its all about advocating and being heard toward reducing those disparities amongst the provinces.
Good information worth sharing here.
ACH2015