According to a January 5, 2017 report from the American Cancer Society there has been a steady decline in the rate of cancer deaths over the past couple decades. From 1991 to 2014 there were 2.1 million less deaths during this time period which correlates to an overall 25% drop in the rate of cancer deaths.
Approximately 1,688,780 new cancer diagnoses and 600,920 deaths from cancer are expected to occur in 2017. According to the available statistics new cancer diagnoses in men decreased by 2% per year and was about the same for women. For both men and women the cancer death rate declined by 1.5% per year.
For both men and women 46% of the deaths were attributed to lung, colorectal, breast, and prostate cancers. Greater than 1 out of 4 cancer deaths was determined to be related to lung cancer. Prostate cancer attributed to approximately 1 in 5 cancer deaths.
According to the statistics the overall drop in cancer deaths for men is attributed to a decrease recently in prostate cancer diagnoses. Recent declines in smoking also attributed to a drop in lung cancer deaths. Also more people are receiving annual checkups to test for evidence of cancer.
Racial disparities are starting to even out with the risk of cancer death in black men decreasing from 47% in 1990 to 21% in 2014. For black women the risk of cancer death decreased from 20% in 1998 to 13% in 2014.
Across all minority cancer victims the evidence suggests that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act may have contributed to the evening out of the previous racial disparities that existed and prevented people from obtaining proper medical treatment.
People who have been diagnosed with lung cancer should consider their work history and possibilities of asbestos exposure as being the cause of their diagnosis. If you worked in an industry associated with a high risk of asbestos exposure and were exposed to asbestos, the disease may not develop for several decades after exposure.
Understand that you may be entitled to compensation through established asbestos trust funds and settlements setup for lung cancer or mesothelioma victims of asbestos exposure.
