Cancer Rates Drop

The 2009 report of the Status of Cancer provides us with some interesting data.

1.) Fatality from cancer is dropping. The continued decline from all cancers combined for men and women is no doubt from increased screening, reduction of risk factors and improved treatment.

2.) Media claims to the contrary, the leading incidence rates for cancer in men are from prostate, lung and colon/rectum cancer. For women, its breast, lung and colon/rectum. Melanoma ranks 6th for both in incidence.

3.) The leading fatality rates for men are also lung, prostate and colon/rectum. For women, its lung, breast and colon/retum. Melanoma ranks 15th in men and not included in the top 20 cancers for women.

The data from the 2009 Status of Cancer seems to support new research from the UK. Claims of an increase in melanoma may be the result of heightened
sensitivity and caution on the side of doctors in classifying benign tumors as
melanoma. The study from the UK indicates..."Dermatologists, pathologists and other medical practitioners have become more cautious in the last two decades, as the consequences of a wrong diagnosis have become more pervasive," the authors wrote in their analysis of the data. Present findings make it extremely unlikely that the reported large increase in the incidence of melanoma is real," the authors concluded.
The increase in reported cases was found almost entirely in Stage 1 melanoma,
an early stage of the cancer".

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUS187982+22-Jun-2009+PRN20090622