The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
COMBATING CANCER
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer and early detection can dramatically increase survival chances. Today we look at the most common types of cancer in men and women.
In 2020, an estimated 1.8 million cases of cancer were diagnosed in the U.S. and more than 600,000 people died from the disease. It was the second leading cause of death behind heart disease and ahead of COVID-19.
In the U.S., the overall cancer death rate has declined since the early 1990s. The most recent annual report to the nation by the National Cancer Institute, released in March 2020, shows that overall cancer death rates decreased by: 1.8% per year among men from 2001 to 2017
1.4% per year among women from 2001 to 2017
1.4% per year among children ages 0–14 from 2013 to 2017
Although death rates for many individual cancer types also have declined, rates for a few cancers have not changed or even increased.
As the overall cancer death rate has declined, the number of cancer survivors has increased. These trends show that progress is being made against the disease, but much work remains. Although rates of smoking, a major cause of cancer, have declined, the rates of other risk factors, such as obesity, have increased in the United States. Also, the U.S. population is aging, and cancer rates increase with age.
Most common cancer
Approximately 1 in 8 women (13%) will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in their lifetime and 1 in 39 women (3%) will die from breast cancer, making it the most prevalent type of cancer in the U.S.
American Cancer Society guideline for breast cancer screening:
• Women should have the opportunity to begin annual screening between the ages of 40 and 44.
• Women ages 45 to 54 should be screened annually.
• Women ages 55 and older should transition to biennial screening or have the opportunity to continue screening annually.
• Women should continue screening mammography as long as their overall health is good and they have a life expectancy of 10 years or more.