It’s the second leading cause of death in the US, but the rate of Americans dying from cancer is continuing to decline — according to a new study.
For the 26th year in a row, there’s been a decline in US cancer death rates.
And according to a new American Cancer Society report, 2016 to 2017 saw its largest-ever single-year drop in overall American cancer deaths. A 2.2 percent plunge spurred, in part, by a sharp decline in lung cancer deaths —
As of 2017, the death rate for lung cancer dropped by 51 percent among men since its peak in 1990, and by 26 percent among women since its peak in 2002, the report found.
The report also says, as of 2017, the death rate for female breast cancer fell 40-percent since 1989. The prostate cancer death rate fell by 52 percent since 1993. The death rate for colorectal cancer among men fell by 53 percent since 1980 and by 57 percent among women since 1969.
Researchers credit reductions in smoking and improvements in treatment for the decline, as well as early detection for some cancers.