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Cancer deaths continue to decline

For the second year in a row, the American Cancer Society reported a drop in cancer deaths in the United States.

“Hopefully this is the beginning of a sustained and accelerating trend,” said John Panicek, Administrative Director of Cancer Services at Backus.

An American Cancer Society report shows there was a drop of 3,014 cancer deaths in the United States from 2003 to 2004, the most recent year for which mortality data is available from the National Center for Health Statistics. This drop was significantly larger than the 369 fewer deaths reported for the previous time period (2002 to 2003), which itself marked the first decline in actual number of cancer deaths in the more than 70 years since nationwide data began to be compiled.

Drops in cancer deaths were seen across all four major cancer sites in men and women (lung, breast, prostate, and colorectal) in 2004, except for lung cancer among women. Colorectal cancer showed the largest decrease in the number of deaths. This was attributed to better screening and improved treatments.

“There is definitely more awareness and early screening,” said Dinesh Kapur, MD, Medical Director of Cancer Services at Backus.

With colon cancer, if polyps are found while they are pre-cancerous, they can be removed before the disease spreads.

“We can target therapies and offer different treatment options, especially during early disease stages,” Dr. Kapur said.

“Patients are paying attention to the news, they are taking charge of their own well-being and going in for screenings,” Mr. Panicek said. Although a colonoscopy can be intimidating, he said it is not painful, because of moderate sedation, and the technology is important in early detection and treatment.
“It is not as though the disease is evolving,” he said. “People are changing their lifestyles, they are eating healthier, quitting smoking and going to the doctor for earlier detection.”

While the death rate for all cancers combined has decreased in the United States since 1991, not until 2003 was the decrease large enough to outpace the aging and growth of the U.S. population, resulting in two consecutive years of dropping cancer deaths.

Donna Goss, Certified Cancer Registrar at Backus, said once a patient is identified as a cancer patient, there is lifelong follow-up by the registrars’ office, which is how the statistics are collected.

“Without us, people wouldn’t have all this information,” she said. “Although the office is valued at Backus, a lot of facilities don’t understand what we do, who registrars are. We collect 175 different data element pieces on each patient, which are all submitted to the state and national registries.”

National registries were established after President Richard Nixon declared the War on Cancer in 1971 and set up a budget for cancer research.

“We are the foot soldiers in the war on cancer,” Ms. Goss said.

She said education, such as the Dinner at Backus program, and stories in the media and on the Internet have made people more aware of what they need to do to stay healthy.

According to the American Cancer Society, a cancer-related checkup should include health counseling, and depending on a person's age and gender, might include exams for cancers of the thyroid, oral cavity, skin, lymph nodes, testes, and ovaries, as well as for some non-malignant (non-cancerous) diseases.