Thursday, February 09, 2006

VITAL EVIDENCE

In U.S. Cancer Deaths, A Minus May Be a Plus

No one is declaring victory, but the number of Americans dying from cancer has dropped for the first time, according to a report being released today.

The most recent federal data show that deaths from cancer fell from 557,271 in 2002 to 556,902 in 2003. While it was a decline of only 369, it marked the first documented drop since the government started collecting statistics in 1930.

"This represents a real milestone," said Michael Thun of the American Cancer Society, which analyzed the data.

The death rate from cancer has been dropping since the early 1990s, but the total number of Americans dying continued to increase because the population is growing and getting older.

Link to full artcile from the Washington Post

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