In the new Cancer Facts and Figures 2008 the American Cancer Society estimates that new cases of colon and rectal cancer will decline this year. Deaths from colorectal cancer are also expected to go down, falling under 50,000.
2008 estimates are for 148,810 new cases of colon and rectal cancer and 49,960 deaths.
The American Cancer Society points out that death rates from colorectal cancer have been declining sharply in the past few years:
Mortality rates from colorectal cancer have declined in both men and women over the past two decades with a steeper decline in the most recent time period (1.8% per year from 1985-2002 compared to 4.7% from 2002-2004). This decrease reflects declining incidence rates and improvements in early detection and treatment.
Colorectal cancer remains the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States and the third most commonly diagnosed cancer.
Reviewing the new statistics, Carlea Bauman, President of C3: Colorectal Cancer Coalition said,
While it is encouraging to see the number of new cases of colon and rectal cancer going down in 2008 and especially gratifying that fewer people will die this year, the 2008 statistics are a sober reminder that much work remains to be done. 49,960 deaths are 49, 960 too many!
Nearly 50,000 men and women in the United States will die this year from a cancer that can be prevented. We know that screening not only finds colorectal cancer early when it is most curable, but screening prevents colorectal cancer.
C3 knows that many Americans do not have insurance coverage for screening at all and many more have inadequate coverage. Our Cover Your Butt campaign is dedicated to seeing that no one goes without colorectal cancer screening for financial reasons.
Spearheaded by C3: Colorectal Cancer Coalition, Cover Your Butt urges the passages of three critical pieces of federal legislation that would remove financial barriers to colorectal cancer screening and ensure that every butt in America is covered.
Technorati Tags: American Cancer Society,cancer statistics,colorectal cancer death rates
Leave a Reply
Your comments are welcome. However, specific medical advice will not be provided, and we urge you to consult with a qualified physician for diagnosis and for answers to your personal questions. FightCRC is not responsible for the medical accuracy of any comments left by persons other than FightCRC staff members. FightCRC staff members monitor comments and may respond publicly where appropriate.
Please note that we automatically publish the name that you enter next to your post. Also note that our pages are automatically indexed by Google and other search engines, and your name may therefore appear in search results on those sites. So if you wish to remain anonymous please use a different name or enter 'Anon' as the name.
We regret that we are unable to privately answer questions left as comments. So please do not include your phone number, email or mailing address in the body of your comment. For the best personal and direct response to your colorectal cancer treatment questions, please call our Answer Line at 1-877-4CRC-111 (1-877-427-2111).