Health and Well-Being-Over one million new cancer cases expected
While the headlines continually tell of the progress being made against cancer, the Atlanta-based American Cancer Society has just released these sobering statistics: An estimated 1,220,100 new cancer cases and 552,200 deaths are expected to occur in the United States in the year 2000.
Those are among the statistics contained in its publication, Cancer Facts & Figures 2000. Here are some more of the society's latest estimates:
• Lung cancer remains the No. 1 cause of cancer death in the United States, with an estimated 156,900 deaths expected this year. An estimated 164,100 new cases of lung cancer are expected to be diagnosed in 2000.
• An estimated 180,400 new cases of prostate cancer are expected this year, and an estimated 31,900 men are expected to die of the disease — the second-leading cause of cancer death in men. Between 1989 and 1992, prostate cancer incidence rates increased dramatically, probably due to increased use of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test screenings that allow doctors to detect the disease early before symptoms appear. Subsequently, prostate cancer incidence rates declined.
• An estimated 182,800 new invasive cases of female breast cancer are expected this year, and about 40,800 women are expected to die of the disease — the second major cause of cancer death in women after lung cancer. According to the most recent data, mortality rates declined significantly during 1992-96 with the largest decreases in younger women. Those decreases are likely due to earlier detection through mammography screening and improved treatment.
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