|
This year, about 156 people every hour will learn they have
cancer, and by the end of 2004 scientists predict 563,700
people will have died from cancer in the United States, according
to a report from the American Cancer Society. Evidence from
the report shows that obesity and little exercise can cause
as many as one-third of the United States’ cancer cases.
Evidence also shows that lung cancer is down but is still
increasing in women, and African American men have a 40 percent
higher chance of dying from all cancers than white men. Further,
African-American women have a lower incidence of breast cancer
but a higher death rate from the disease.
There are many reasons for such disparities, according to
one of the study’s authors, such as a limited access
to health care due to poverty.
However, the report reveals that death rates have declined
slightly and five-year survival improved significantly for
children, from 56 percent in the mid-1970s to 78 percent in
the 1990s. Additionally, certain steps have been made to prevent
cancer, such as anti-smoking campaigns.
USA
Today January 15, 2004
| 