A view shows an empty room in the intensive care unit of Lyon-Sud hospital in Pierre-Benite on September 8, 2021. (Photo by JEFF PACHOUD / AFP) (Photo by JEFF PACHOUD/AFP via Getty Images)
The American Cancer Society has released its projections for new cancer cases this year. For the first time, they predict more than two million cases of this disease.
While “common cancer” is on the rise, dying from cancer has seen a downward trend.
“Over the last 30 years, the risk of dying from cancer has steadily declined, sparing some 4 million lives in the United States. This downward trend can partially be explained by big wins in smoking cessation, early cancer detection, and treatment advancements,” their Jan. 17 report and study states.
While the U.S. is experiencing fewer deaths from this disease, the estimated toll for this year is still over half a million. ACS projects that 611,000 people will pass away this year from a variant of the disease. That breaks down to about 1,600 per day.
“Of all cancer deaths in people under 50, colorectal is now number one in men and number two in women,” per ACS.
Better news? Colorectal and cervical cancer screenings are effective preventative methods for these types of cancers. That’s because early detection of precancerous lesions can lead to preventative removals.
As mentioned, the ACS predicts medical professionals will diagnose over two million new cancer cases this year. That’s 5,500 new daily diagnoses, with “a rise in diagnoses of 6 of the 10 most common cancers.” The list includes breast, prostate, endometrial, pancreatic, kidney and melanoma. ACS associates excess body weight with the risk of developing these variants of the disease.
The other four of the top ten are lung, colon, rectum, bladder, and non-Hodgkin.
Another factor in the numbers is “aging and growth of the population.” For men, prostate, lung, colon, and rectum cancers represent about 48 percent of cases. While for women, breast, lung, colon, and rectum account for 51 percent of all cancer cases.
Most recently, on the public figures side, CNN’s Sara Sidner revealed her breast cancer diagnosis. As of early January, the host said it was at stage three and she’s in chemotherapy.
To note, the study summarizes that the rise of the diagnoses will ultimately impact the steady decline in death rates. It also goes into depth on the trend of cancer patients getting younger.
To see a full breakdown of this disease for the year ahead, visit here.
