Terramed Alliance News USA Cancer Rates Falling

From http://www.childhood-leukemia.com/news/us-cancer-rates-falling/

Overall, cancer death rates fell 2 percent per year from 2001 to 2005 in men and 1.6 percent per year from 2002 to 2005 in women. By comparison, between 1993 and 2001, overall death rates in men declined 1.5 percent per year and, between 1994 and 2002, 0.8 percent in women.

“We continue to see a decrease in death rates from cancer in both men and women and this is mainly because of prevention – mostly a reduction in smoking rates; detection which includes screening for colorectal cancer, for breast cancer and for cervical cancer; and also improved treatment,” said report author Ahmedin Jemal, strategic director for cancer surveillance at the American Cancer Society.

“To put this in perspective, the number of lives saved is more than the population of Washington, D.C.,” said Dr. Louis M. Weiner, director of the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University. “In my mind, that’s a cause for some celebration. However, there are some sobering trends that we have to be aware of. The death rate for cardiovascular disease has dropped much more dramatically over that period than has the death rate from cancer, indicating the difficulty of developing new strategies to reduce the incidence of cancer and also to treat it more effectively. This is a very complex set of diseases. While we have come a long way, we have a lot further to go.”

Hopefully, continued reductions in smoking rates, especially among women, should push cancer rates further down in the future, the researchers noted.

Although some 45 million Americans continue to smoke, for a prevalence rate of about 20 percent, “smoking prevalence is going in the right direction,” Jemal said. “We’re going to see a reduction in lung cancer death rates, although I don’t know when it might be. In particular, we will see a reduction in cancer death rates among women that’s going to drive [down] the overall cancer death rate.”

Better screening could also further fuel the trend. Only 50 percent of Americans over the age of 50 currently get regular screening for colorectal cancer, he said.

Here is a summary of the report’s findings:

* In 2009, an estimated 1,479,350 new cases of cancer will be diagnosed in the U.S. (766,130 in men and 713,220 in women) and 562,340 people will die of the disease (292,540 men and 269,800 women). This means 1,500 deaths from cancer every day).

* Between 2001 and 2005, the incidence of cancer in men declined by 1.8 percent per year; from 1998 to 2005 the incidence rate in women dropped 0.6 percent per year. In men, the gains were largely as a result of decreases in the incidence of lung, prostate and colorectal cancer (the three most common cancers). In women, the decline was largely attributable to declines in both breast and colorectal cancer, the two most common tumor types in women.

* Cancer death rates dropped by 11.4 percent for women between 1991 and 2005, with a 37 percent decline in deaths from breast cancer and a 24 percent decrease in deaths from colorectal cancer.

* The three leading cancer killers in men are lung, prostate and colorectal cancer. In women, they are lung (accounting for 26 percent of all cancer deaths), breast and colorectal cancer.

* Men have a 44 percent chance of developing cancer during their lifetime and women a 37 percent chance, although women are more likely to have the disease earlier (before age 60).

* Lung cancer shows the greatest regional variation in cancer incidence, ranging from a low of 39.6 cases per 100,000 in men and 22.4 per 100,000 in women in Utah to 136.2 in men and 76.2 in women in Kentucky. These statistics correlate directly to smoking rates in the two states, with Utah having the lowest prevalence in adult smoking in the country, and Kentucky the highest.

* Blacks still assume a disproportionate share of the cancer burden, with black men being 18 percent more likely to develop cancer and 36 percent more likely to die. Black women have a 6 percent lower incidence rate but this is more than made up for with a death rate, which is 17 percent higher than that seen in white women.

* The five-year survival rate for children with cancer is now 80 percent, up from only 58 percent for those diagnosed in the mid-1970s. But cancer is still the second leading cause of death in youngsters aged 1 to 14 (after accidents), with leukemia being the most common cancer diagnosed.

* And in a special section, the report finds that cancer survivors are about 14 percent more likely to develop a new cancer than individuals who have never had a cancer diagnosis; almost 900,000 cancer survivors have been diagnosed with more than one cancer. Patients diagnosed with tobacco-related cancers, such as cancers of the oral cavity, lung, esophagus, kidney, and urinary bladder, have the highest risk for a second cancer because smoking is a risk factor for at least 15 types of cancer. Breast cancer survivors comprise almost half of women who develop a second cancer.

Unfortunately, cancer remains the leading killer (surpassing heart disease) for persons under 85, and one-quarter of deaths in the United States still come from cancer, the report stated.

“It’s good news that the death rates for the most common cancers are on the decline, but there are still too many Americans dying of cancer every year,” said Dr. Alan Astrow, director of medical oncology and hematology at Maimonides Cancer Center in New York City. “It’s troubling that African-Americans continue to experience higher rates of mortality from cancer than whites. It’s also troubling that Americans with less education have higher death rates. There are continued high rates of deaths from lung cancer. It’s hard to feel good about 160,000 Americans dying of lung cancer every year. That’s a disturbing statistics which we, as a nation, need to address.”

The report appears online and in the July/August print issue of CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.

Terramed Alliance is a non-profit organization in the battle against leukemia  helps  children living with cancer and their families. Our goal is to make sure children battling cancer know they are not alone. For more information please visit www.terramedalliance.org.  Email at contact@terramedalliance.org

Related Smoking Prevalence Articles

Terramed Alliance News USA Cancer Rates Falling

From http://www.childhood-leukemia.com/news/us-cancer-rates-falling/

Overall, cancer death rates fell 2 percent per year from 2001 to 2005 in men and 1.6 percent per year from 2002 to 2005 in women. By comparison, between 1993 and 2001, overall death rates in men declined 1.5 percent per year and, between 1994 and 2002, 0.8 percent in women.

“We continue to see a decrease in death rates from cancer in both men and women and this is mainly because of prevention – mostly a reduction in smoking rates; detection which includes screening for colorectal cancer, for breast cancer and for cervical cancer; and also improved treatment,” said report author Ahmedin Jemal, strategic director for cancer surveillance at the American Cancer Society.

“To put this in perspective, the number of lives saved is more than the population of Washington, D.C.,” said Dr. Louis M. Weiner, director of the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University. “In my mind, that’s a cause for some celebration. However, there are some sobering trends that we have to be aware of. The death rate for cardiovascular disease has dropped much more dramatically over that period than has the death rate from cancer, indicating the difficulty of developing new strategies to reduce the incidence of cancer and also to treat it more effectively. This is a very complex set of diseases. While we have come a long way, we have a lot further to go.”

Hopefully, continued reductions in smoking rates, especially among women, should push cancer rates further down in the future, the researchers noted.

Although some 45 million Americans continue to smoke, for a prevalence rate of about 20 percent, “smoking prevalence is going in the right direction,” Jemal said. “We’re going to see a reduction in lung cancer death rates, although I don’t know when it might be. In particular, we will see a reduction in cancer death rates among women that’s going to drive [down] the overall cancer death rate.”

Better screening could also further fuel the trend. Only 50 percent of Americans over the age of 50 currently get regular screening for colorectal cancer, he said.

Here is a summary of the report’s findings:

* In 2009, an estimated 1,479,350 new cases of cancer will be diagnosed in the U.S. (766,130 in men and 713,220 in women) and 562,340 people will die of the disease (292,540 men and 269,800 women). This means 1,500 deaths from cancer every day).

* Between 2001 and 2005, the incidence of cancer in men declined by 1.8 percent per year; from 1998 to 2005 the incidence rate in women dropped 0.6 percent per year. In men, the gains were largely as a result of decreases in the incidence of lung, prostate and colorectal cancer (the three most common cancers). In women, the decline was largely attributable to declines in both breast and colorectal cancer, the two most common tumor types in women.

* Cancer death rates dropped by 11.4 percent for women between 1991 and 2005, with a 37 percent decline in deaths from breast cancer and a 24 percent decrease in deaths from colorectal cancer.

* The three leading cancer killers in men are lung, prostate and colorectal cancer. In women, they are lung (accounting for 26 percent of all cancer deaths), breast and colorectal cancer.

* Men have a 44 percent chance of developing cancer during their lifetime and women a 37 percent chance, although women are more likely to have the disease earlier (before age 60).

* Lung cancer shows the greatest regional variation in cancer incidence, ranging from a low of 39.6 cases per 100,000 in men and 22.4 per 100,000 in women in Utah to 136.2 in men and 76.2 in women in Kentucky. These statistics correlate directly to smoking rates in the two states, with Utah having the lowest prevalence in adult smoking in the country, and Kentucky the highest.

* Blacks still assume a disproportionate share of the cancer burden, with black men being 18 percent more likely to develop cancer and 36 percent more likely to die. Black women have a 6 percent lower incidence rate but this is more than made up for with a death rate, which is 17 percent higher than that seen in white women.

* The five-year survival rate for children with cancer is now 80 percent, up from only 58 percent for those diagnosed in the mid-1970s. But cancer is still the second leading cause of death in youngsters aged 1 to 14 (after accidents), with leukemia being the most common cancer diagnosed.

* And in a special section, the report finds that cancer survivors are about 14 percent more likely to develop a new cancer than individuals who have never had a cancer diagnosis; almost 900,000 cancer survivors have been diagnosed with more than one cancer. Patients diagnosed with tobacco-related cancers, such as cancers of the oral cavity, lung, esophagus, kidney, and urinary bladder, have the highest risk for a second cancer because smoking is a risk factor for at least 15 types of cancer. Breast cancer survivors comprise almost half of women who develop a second cancer.

Unfortunately, cancer remains the leading killer (surpassing heart disease) for persons under 85, and one-quarter of deaths in the United States still come from cancer, the report stated.

“It’s good news that the death rates for the most common cancers are on the decline, but there are still too many Americans dying of cancer every year,” said Dr. Alan Astrow, director of medical oncology and hematology at Maimonides Cancer Center in New York City. “It’s troubling that African-Americans continue to experience higher rates of mortality from cancer than whites. It’s also troubling that Americans with less education have higher death rates. There are continued high rates of deaths from lung cancer. It’s hard to feel good about 160,000 Americans dying of lung cancer every year. That’s a disturbing statistics which we, as a nation, need to address.”

The report appears online and in the July/August print issue of CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.

Terramed Alliance is a non-profit organization in the battle against leukemia  helps  children living with cancer and their families. Our goal is to make sure children battling cancer know they are not alone. For more information please visit www.terramedalliance.org.  Email at contact@terramedalliance.org

CDC briefing on the September release of CDC Vital Signs reports, Current Cigarette Smoking Among Adults Aged ≥18 Years — United States, 2009 and Nonsmokers’ Exposure to Secondhand Smoke — United States, 1999–2008. The briefing is led by Thomas R. Frieden, MPH, MD, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Comments on this video are allowed in accordance with our comment policy: www.cdc.gov This video can also be viewed at www2c.cdc.gov

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Find More Smoking Prevalence Articles

Terramed Alliance News USA Cancer Rates Falling

From http://www.childhood-leukemia.com/news/us-cancer-rates-falling/

Overall, cancer death rates fell 2 percent per year from 2001 to 2005 in men and 1.6 percent per year from 2002 to 2005 in women. By comparison, between 1993 and 2001, overall death rates in men declined 1.5 percent per year and, between 1994 and 2002, 0.8 percent in women.

“We continue to see a decrease in death rates from cancer in both men and women and this is mainly because of prevention – mostly a reduction in smoking rates; detection which includes screening for colorectal cancer, for breast cancer and for cervical cancer; and also improved treatment,” said report author Ahmedin Jemal, strategic director for cancer surveillance at the American Cancer Society.

“To put this in perspective, the number of lives saved is more than the population of Washington, D.C.,” said Dr. Louis M. Weiner, director of the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University. “In my mind, that’s a cause for some celebration. However, there are some sobering trends that we have to be aware of. The death rate for cardiovascular disease has dropped much more dramatically over that period than has the death rate from cancer, indicating the difficulty of developing new strategies to reduce the incidence of cancer and also to treat it more effectively. This is a very complex set of diseases. While we have come a long way, we have a lot further to go.”

Hopefully, continued reductions in smoking rates, especially among women, should push cancer rates further down in the future, the researchers noted.

Although some 45 million Americans continue to smoke, for a prevalence rate of about 20 percent, “smoking prevalence is going in the right direction,” Jemal said. “We’re going to see a reduction in lung cancer death rates, although I don’t know when it might be. In particular, we will see a reduction in cancer death rates among women that’s going to drive [down] the overall cancer death rate.”

Better screening could also further fuel the trend. Only 50 percent of Americans over the age of 50 currently get regular screening for colorectal cancer, he said.

Here is a summary of the report’s findings:

* In 2009, an estimated 1,479,350 new cases of cancer will be diagnosed in the U.S. (766,130 in men and 713,220 in women) and 562,340 people will die of the disease (292,540 men and 269,800 women). This means 1,500 deaths from cancer every day).

* Between 2001 and 2005, the incidence of cancer in men declined by 1.8 percent per year; from 1998 to 2005 the incidence rate in women dropped 0.6 percent per year. In men, the gains were largely as a result of decreases in the incidence of lung, prostate and colorectal cancer (the three most common cancers). In women, the decline was largely attributable to declines in both breast and colorectal cancer, the two most common tumor types in women.

* Cancer death rates dropped by 11.4 percent for women between 1991 and 2005, with a 37 percent decline in deaths from breast cancer and a 24 percent decrease in deaths from colorectal cancer.

* The three leading cancer killers in men are lung, prostate and colorectal cancer. In women, they are lung (accounting for 26 percent of all cancer deaths), breast and colorectal cancer.

* Men have a 44 percent chance of developing cancer during their lifetime and women a 37 percent chance, although women are more likely to have the disease earlier (before age 60).

* Lung cancer shows the greatest regional variation in cancer incidence, ranging from a low of 39.6 cases per 100,000 in men and 22.4 per 100,000 in women in Utah to 136.2 in men and 76.2 in women in Kentucky. These statistics correlate directly to smoking rates in the two states, with Utah having the lowest prevalence in adult smoking in the country, and Kentucky the highest.

* Blacks still assume a disproportionate share of the cancer burden, with black men being 18 percent more likely to develop cancer and 36 percent more likely to die. Black women have a 6 percent lower incidence rate but this is more than made up for with a death rate, which is 17 percent higher than that seen in white women.

* The five-year survival rate for children with cancer is now 80 percent, up from only 58 percent for those diagnosed in the mid-1970s. But cancer is still the second leading cause of death in youngsters aged 1 to 14 (after accidents), with leukemia being the most common cancer diagnosed.

* And in a special section, the report finds that cancer survivors are about 14 percent more likely to develop a new cancer than individuals who have never had a cancer diagnosis; almost 900,000 cancer survivors have been diagnosed with more than one cancer. Patients diagnosed with tobacco-related cancers, such as cancers of the oral cavity, lung, esophagus, kidney, and urinary bladder, have the highest risk for a second cancer because smoking is a risk factor for at least 15 types of cancer. Breast cancer survivors comprise almost half of women who develop a second cancer.

Unfortunately, cancer remains the leading killer (surpassing heart disease) for persons under 85, and one-quarter of deaths in the United States still come from cancer, the report stated.

“It’s good news that the death rates for the most common cancers are on the decline, but there are still too many Americans dying of cancer every year,” said Dr. Alan Astrow, director of medical oncology and hematology at Maimonides Cancer Center in New York City. “It’s troubling that African-Americans continue to experience higher rates of mortality from cancer than whites. It’s also troubling that Americans with less education have higher death rates. There are continued high rates of deaths from lung cancer. It’s hard to feel good about 160,000 Americans dying of lung cancer every year. That’s a disturbing statistics which we, as a nation, need to address.”

The report appears online and in the July/August print issue of CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.

Terramed Alliance is a non-profit organization in the battle against leukemia  helps  children living with cancer and their families. Our goal is to make sure children battling cancer know they are not alone. For more information please visit www.terramedalliance.org.  Email at contact@terramedalliance.org

Find More Smoking Prevalence Articles

Terramed Alliance News USA Cancer Rates Falling

From http://www.childhood-leukemia.com/news/us-cancer-rates-falling/

Overall, cancer death rates fell 2 percent per year from 2001 to 2005 in men and 1.6 percent per year from 2002 to 2005 in women. By comparison, between 1993 and 2001, overall death rates in men declined 1.5 percent per year and, between 1994 and 2002, 0.8 percent in women.

“We continue to see a decrease in death rates from cancer in both men and women and this is mainly because of prevention – mostly a reduction in smoking rates; detection which includes screening for colorectal cancer, for breast cancer and for cervical cancer; and also improved treatment,” said report author Ahmedin Jemal, strategic director for cancer surveillance at the American Cancer Society.

“To put this in perspective, the number of lives saved is more than the population of Washington, D.C.,” said Dr. Louis M. Weiner, director of the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University. “In my mind, that’s a cause for some celebration. However, there are some sobering trends that we have to be aware of. The death rate for cardiovascular disease has dropped much more dramatically over that period than has the death rate from cancer, indicating the difficulty of developing new strategies to reduce the incidence of cancer and also to treat it more effectively. This is a very complex set of diseases. While we have come a long way, we have a lot further to go.”

Hopefully, continued reductions in smoking rates, especially among women, should push cancer rates further down in the future, the researchers noted.

Although some 45 million Americans continue to smoke, for a prevalence rate of about 20 percent, “smoking prevalence is going in the right direction,” Jemal said. “We’re going to see a reduction in lung cancer death rates, although I don’t know when it might be. In particular, we will see a reduction in cancer death rates among women that’s going to drive [down] the overall cancer death rate.”

Better screening could also further fuel the trend. Only 50 percent of Americans over the age of 50 currently get regular screening for colorectal cancer, he said.

Here is a summary of the report’s findings:

* In 2009, an estimated 1,479,350 new cases of cancer will be diagnosed in the U.S. (766,130 in men and 713,220 in women) and 562,340 people will die of the disease (292,540 men and 269,800 women). This means 1,500 deaths from cancer every day).

* Between 2001 and 2005, the incidence of cancer in men declined by 1.8 percent per year; from 1998 to 2005 the incidence rate in women dropped 0.6 percent per year. In men, the gains were largely as a result of decreases in the incidence of lung, prostate and colorectal cancer (the three most common cancers). In women, the decline was largely attributable to declines in both breast and colorectal cancer, the two most common tumor types in women.

* Cancer death rates dropped by 11.4 percent for women between 1991 and 2005, with a 37 percent decline in deaths from breast cancer and a 24 percent decrease in deaths from colorectal cancer.

* The three leading cancer killers in men are lung, prostate and colorectal cancer. In women, they are lung (accounting for 26 percent of all cancer deaths), breast and colorectal cancer.

* Men have a 44 percent chance of developing cancer during their lifetime and women a 37 percent chance, although women are more likely to have the disease earlier (before age 60).

* Lung cancer shows the greatest regional variation in cancer incidence, ranging from a low of 39.6 cases per 100,000 in men and 22.4 per 100,000 in women in Utah to 136.2 in men and 76.2 in women in Kentucky. These statistics correlate directly to smoking rates in the two states, with Utah having the lowest prevalence in adult smoking in the country, and Kentucky the highest.

* Blacks still assume a disproportionate share of the cancer burden, with black men being 18 percent more likely to develop cancer and 36 percent more likely to die. Black women have a 6 percent lower incidence rate but this is more than made up for with a death rate, which is 17 percent higher than that seen in white women.

* The five-year survival rate for children with cancer is now 80 percent, up from only 58 percent for those diagnosed in the mid-1970s. But cancer is still the second leading cause of death in youngsters aged 1 to 14 (after accidents), with leukemia being the most common cancer diagnosed.

* And in a special section, the report finds that cancer survivors are about 14 percent more likely to develop a new cancer than individuals who have never had a cancer diagnosis; almost 900,000 cancer survivors have been diagnosed with more than one cancer. Patients diagnosed with tobacco-related cancers, such as cancers of the oral cavity, lung, esophagus, kidney, and urinary bladder, have the highest risk for a second cancer because smoking is a risk factor for at least 15 types of cancer. Breast cancer survivors comprise almost half of women who develop a second cancer.

Unfortunately, cancer remains the leading killer (surpassing heart disease) for persons under 85, and one-quarter of deaths in the United States still come from cancer, the report stated.

“It’s good news that the death rates for the most common cancers are on the decline, but there are still too many Americans dying of cancer every year,” said Dr. Alan Astrow, director of medical oncology and hematology at Maimonides Cancer Center in New York City. “It’s troubling that African-Americans continue to experience higher rates of mortality from cancer than whites. It’s also troubling that Americans with less education have higher death rates. There are continued high rates of deaths from lung cancer. It’s hard to feel good about 160,000 Americans dying of lung cancer every year. That’s a disturbing statistics which we, as a nation, need to address.”

The report appears online and in the July/August print issue of CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.

Terramed Alliance is a non-profit organization in the battle against leukemia  helps  children living with cancer and their families. Our goal is to make sure children battling cancer know they are not alone. For more information please visit www.terramedalliance.org.  Email at contact@terramedalliance.org

Miles Calcraft Briginshaw Duffy London want to position smoking as the enemy of family. This recent campaign focuses very strongly on addressing the needs of the Routine & Manual target group whose smoking prevalence is significantly higher than the national average. The key was to find an approach they could not escape from. Often living in same area that they grew up in, they enjoy spending time with their family and often this is more important than spending time with their friends. This campaign was a radical departure from the tonality of previous anti-smoking messages and each execution was subverted by a twist at the end of the ad. The idea was supported by a range of evidence but, in particular, it was the fact that children are 3 times more likely to become smokers if their parents smoke (NHS). This then allowed MCBD to draw on the irrefutable truth that kids will inherently copy their parents as they grow up.

Terramed Alliance News USA Cancer Rates Falling

From http://www.childhood-leukemia.com/news/us-cancer-rates-falling/

Overall, cancer death rates fell 2 percent per year from 2001 to 2005 in men and 1.6 percent per year from 2002 to 2005 in women. By comparison, between 1993 and 2001, overall death rates in men declined 1.5 percent per year and, between 1994 and 2002, 0.8 percent in women.

“We continue to see a decrease in death rates from cancer in both men and women and this is mainly because of prevention – mostly a reduction in smoking rates; detection which includes screening for colorectal cancer, for breast cancer and for cervical cancer; and also improved treatment,” said report author Ahmedin Jemal, strategic director for cancer surveillance at the American Cancer Society.

“To put this in perspective, the number of lives saved is more than the population of Washington, D.C.,” said Dr. Louis M. Weiner, director of the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at Georgetown University. “In my mind, that’s a cause for some celebration. However, there are some sobering trends that we have to be aware of. The death rate for cardiovascular disease has dropped much more dramatically over that period than has the death rate from cancer, indicating the difficulty of developing new strategies to reduce the incidence of cancer and also to treat it more effectively. This is a very complex set of diseases. While we have come a long way, we have a lot further to go.”

Hopefully, continued reductions in smoking rates, especially among women, should push cancer rates further down in the future, the researchers noted.

Although some 45 million Americans continue to smoke, for a prevalence rate of about 20 percent, “smoking prevalence is going in the right direction,” Jemal said. “We’re going to see a reduction in lung cancer death rates, although I don’t know when it might be. In particular, we will see a reduction in cancer death rates among women that’s going to drive [down] the overall cancer death rate.”

Better screening could also further fuel the trend. Only 50 percent of Americans over the age of 50 currently get regular screening for colorectal cancer, he said.

Here is a summary of the report’s findings:

* In 2009, an estimated 1,479,350 new cases of cancer will be diagnosed in the U.S. (766,130 in men and 713,220 in women) and 562,340 people will die of the disease (292,540 men and 269,800 women). This means 1,500 deaths from cancer every day).

* Between 2001 and 2005, the incidence of cancer in men declined by 1.8 percent per year; from 1998 to 2005 the incidence rate in women dropped 0.6 percent per year. In men, the gains were largely as a result of decreases in the incidence of lung, prostate and colorectal cancer (the three most common cancers). In women, the decline was largely attributable to declines in both breast and colorectal cancer, the two most common tumor types in women.

* Cancer death rates dropped by 11.4 percent for women between 1991 and 2005, with a 37 percent decline in deaths from breast cancer and a 24 percent decrease in deaths from colorectal cancer.

* The three leading cancer killers in men are lung, prostate and colorectal cancer. In women, they are lung (accounting for 26 percent of all cancer deaths), breast and colorectal cancer.

* Men have a 44 percent chance of developing cancer during their lifetime and women a 37 percent chance, although women are more likely to have the disease earlier (before age 60).

* Lung cancer shows the greatest regional variation in cancer incidence, ranging from a low of 39.6 cases per 100,000 in men and 22.4 per 100,000 in women in Utah to 136.2 in men and 76.2 in women in Kentucky. These statistics correlate directly to smoking rates in the two states, with Utah having the lowest prevalence in adult smoking in the country, and Kentucky the highest.

* Blacks still assume a disproportionate share of the cancer burden, with black men being 18 percent more likely to develop cancer and 36 percent more likely to die. Black women have a 6 percent lower incidence rate but this is more than made up for with a death rate, which is 17 percent higher than that seen in white women.

* The five-year survival rate for children with cancer is now 80 percent, up from only 58 percent for those diagnosed in the mid-1970s. But cancer is still the second leading cause of death in youngsters aged 1 to 14 (after accidents), with leukemia being the most common cancer diagnosed.

* And in a special section, the report finds that cancer survivors are about 14 percent more likely to develop a new cancer than individuals who have never had a cancer diagnosis; almost 900,000 cancer survivors have been diagnosed with more than one cancer. Patients diagnosed with tobacco-related cancers, such as cancers of the oral cavity, lung, esophagus, kidney, and urinary bladder, have the highest risk for a second cancer because smoking is a risk factor for at least 15 types of cancer. Breast cancer survivors comprise almost half of women who develop a second cancer.

Unfortunately, cancer remains the leading killer (surpassing heart disease) for persons under 85, and one-quarter of deaths in the United States still come from cancer, the report stated.

“It’s good news that the death rates for the most common cancers are on the decline, but there are still too many Americans dying of cancer every year,” said Dr. Alan Astrow, director of medical oncology and hematology at Maimonides Cancer Center in New York City. “It’s troubling that African-Americans continue to experience higher rates of mortality from cancer than whites. It’s also troubling that Americans with less education have higher death rates. There are continued high rates of deaths from lung cancer. It’s hard to feel good about 160,000 Americans dying of lung cancer every year. That’s a disturbing statistics which we, as a nation, need to address.”

The report appears online and in the July/August print issue of CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.

Terramed Alliance is a non-profit organization in the battle against leukemia  helps  children living with cancer and their families. Our goal is to make sure children battling cancer know they are not alone. For more information please visit www.terramedalliance.org.  Email at contact@terramedalliance.org

Related Smoking Prevalence Articles

Smoking and Reproductive Outcomes, Cigarette Smoking Among Pregnant Women

Women smokers, like men smokers, are at increased risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and pulmonary disease, but women smokers also experience unique risks related to menstrual and reproductive function.

Women who smoke have increased risk beginning delay and for major and secondary infertility.

Smoking during pregnancy remains a major public health problem despite increased knowledge of the adverse health effects of smoking during pregnancy. Although the occurrence of smoking during pregnancy has declined steadily in recent years, substantial numbers of pregnant women continue to smoke, and only about one-third of women who stop smoking during pregnancy are still abstinent one year after the delivery.

Women who smoke may have a modest increase in risks for ectopic pregnancy and spontaneous. abortion.

Smoking during pregnancy is associated with increased risk for premature break of membranes, abruptio placentae (placenta separation from the uterus), and placenta previal (abnormal location of the placenta, which can cause massive hemorrhaging during delivery; smoking is also associated with a modest increase in risk for preterm delivery.

Infants born to women who smoke during pregnancy have a lower average birth weight and are more likely to be small for gestational age than infants born to women who do not smoke. Low birth weight is associated with increased risk for neonatal, perinatal, and infant morbidity and mortality. The longer the mother smokes during pregnancy, the greater the effect on the infant’s birth weight.
The risk for perinatal mortality, both stillbirths and neonatal deaths, and the risk for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) are higher for the offspring of women who smoke during pregnancy.

Women who smoke are less likely to breast-feed their infants than are women who do not.

Environmental Tobacco Smoke and Reproductive Outcomes

Infants born to women who are exposed to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) during pregnancy may have a small decrement in birth weight and a slightly increased risk for intrauterine growth retardation than infants born to women who are not exposed to ETS.

Smoking Prevalence and Smoking Cessation during Pregnancy

Despite increased knowledge of the adverse health effects of smoking during pregnancy, estimates of women smoking during pregnancy range from 12% (based on birth certificate data) up to 22% (based on survey data). However, smoking during pregnancy appears to have decreased from 1989 through 1998.
Eliminating maternal smoking may lead to a 10% reduction in all infant deaths and a 12% reduction in deaths from perinatal conditions.

Women who quit smoking before or during pregnancy reduce the risk for adverse reproductive outcomes, including difficulties in becoming pregnant, infertility, premature rupture of membranes, preterm delivery, and low birth weight.
Most relevant studies suggest that infants of women who stop smoking by the first trimester have weight and body measurements comparable with those of nonsmokers’ infants. Studies also suggest that smoking in the third trimester is particularly detrimental.
Women are more likely to stop smoking during pregnancy, both spontaneously and with assistance, than at other times in their lives. Using pregnancy-specific programs can increase smoking cessation rates, which benefits infant health and is cost effective. However, only one-third of women who stop smoking during pregnancy are still abstinent 1 year after the delivery.

Programs that encourage women to stop smoking before, during, and after pregnancy — and not to take up smoking ever again — deserve high priority for two reasons: during pregnancy women are highly motivated to stop smoking, and they still have many remaining years of potential life.

Despite increased knowledge of the adverse health effects of smoking during pregnancy, survey data suggest that a substantial number of pregnant women and girls smoke. Cigarette smoking during pregnancy declined from 19.5% in 1989 to 12.9% in 1998.

Smoking prevalence during pregnancy differs by age and by race and ethnicity. In 1998, smoking prevalence during pregnancy was consistently highest among young adult women aged 18 through 24 (17.1%) and lowest among women aged 25 through 49 (10.5%).

Smoking during pregnancy declined among women of all racial/ethnic populations. From 1989 to 1998, smoking among American Indian or Alaska Native pregnant women decreased from 23.0% to 20.2%; among pregnant white women from 21.7% to 16.2%; African American pregnant women from 17.2% to 9.6%; Hispanic pregnant women from 8.0% to 4.0%; and Asian American or Pacific Islander pregnant women from 5.7% to 3.1%.

In 1998, there was nearly a 12-fold difference among pregnant women who smoke—ranging from 25.5 percent among mothers with 9-11 years of education to 2.2 percent among mothers with 16 or more years of education.

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