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U.S. Cancer Death Rates Have Fallen 33% Since 1991
Malorie Thompson
As medical advancements are made, cancer treatments have improved and our knowledge of various cancers has grown drastically. Despite that, it's still a major cause of death in the U.S.
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However, it may not be as bad as we once thought. In fact, a recent report shows that rates of cancer deaths have dropped drastically over the past three decades.
The American Cancer Society issued a report that shows the cancer death rate in the U.S. has fallen a staggering 33% since 1991. To translate that to real people, the drop meant that there have been 3.5 million fewer deaths.
Photo: Pexels/Anna Tarazevich
According to the report, it's believed that the decline in cancer deaths is due to a combination of factors, ranging from a reduced number of people smoking, higher rates of cancer screenings, earlier diagnosis, and improvements in treatment.
WION News reports that Karen Knudsen, CEO of the American Cancer Society, said: "New revelations for prevention, for early detection and for treatment have resulted in true, meaningful gains in many of the 200 diseases that we call cancer."
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Not all cancer is the same, and some cancers have fairly high survival rates now, such as thyroid at 98%, prostate at 97%, testis at 95% and melanoma at 94%, according to the report.
While the decline in deaths is excellent news, there's still a lot of work to be done. In the United States, cancer is still the second leading cause of death for adults, coming in right behind heart disease.
