Cancer Death Rates

Have you noticed how many of your family, friends and acquaintances have died from cancer lately? We all have heard the phrase “Fake News”. Well, I have worked with cancer patients for over 45 years and I feel that phrase is a perfect example of what we are being told. When you hear on the news or read there is less cancer deaths in the US now, in my opinion, that is fake news. One in three people are getting cancer.

I like researching and giving you what the latest I can find on cancer is, however, I like to give you my opinion too. I am seeing the opposite of what the reports want us to believe about the US statistics. They are not good numbers. Could it be they want to “fudge” a little on the numbers? If you look at the World Charts, you will see that the US has fallen below some third world countries in medicine. That is a shame. We are a great country but my opinion is that money and greed has taken over.

Here is some of what they want us to believe. Cancer death rates have reached a 25-year all time low.  Rachael Rettner, Senior Writer for Live Science has written an article giving more information of this issue.

The U.S. cancer death rates have declined for the last quarter of a century, which is a real milestone. 

In the U.S. the cancer death rate dropped during 1991 to 2016, which equates to about 1.5% per year and results in an overall decline of 27% during the 25-year-period.  This report comes from the American Cancer Society (ACS).  That means an estimated 1.6 million less cancer deaths than what would have been expected if the rates had remained at their peak.

Even with this progress there are many growing disparities in cancer deaths with people living in poorer communities and experiencing an increasingly larger burden of preventable cancers.  The decline of cancer deaths is good news but there is also bad news.  Inequalities are widening among those of low socioeconomic status, according to Dr. Darrell Gray II, deputy director of the Center for Cancer Health Equity at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center.  Gray was not involved in this study.

He believes this underscores the importance of health care providers, researchers and lay community members and advocates to continue to push toward health equity.

ACS’s annual report was published in CA:A Cancer Journal for Clinicians that analyzes the most recent data on cancer incidence, deaths and survival rates in the U.S.  There were 156 cancer deaths for every 100,000 in 2016, which was down from 215 deaths for 100,000 people in 1991.  The decline gives credit to reductions in smoking and advances in the early detection and treatment of cancer.  Lung cancer deaths dropped by 48% from 1990 to 2016 among men and 23% in 2002 to 2016 for women.  Breast cancer rates dropped 40% from 1989 to 2016, prostate by 51.% among men from 1993 to 2016 and colorectal by 53% among both men and women from 1970 to 2016.

Other cancers including endometrial, pancreatic and liver death rates have increased from 2012 to 2016.  Other cancers like breast and colorectal have evidence-based screening guidelines available and there are no guidelines for pancreatic and uterine cancer.  Gray feels there is a lot of work and research needed for this area.

There are also gaps in cancer death rates that are narrowing by race, but by socioeconomic status they are widening.  Cervical cancer rates among women in poor counties are twice as high as in wealthier counties.  Lung and liver cancer death rates are more than 40% higher among men living in poor counties, compared with wealthier counties.  Efforts are definitely needed to address this gap.  They need increased access to basic health care and interventions for smoking cessation, healthy living and cancer screening programs.

Dr Fredda Branyon