Health Care

Every year, the American cancer society releases facts and figures on cancer cases around the world. The figures explore subjects such as rates by region, leading causes of cancer, survival rate for each type and comparison between death rates for developing nations versus developed nations. The information gives us a fascinating look at the details of this deadly disease. In this article, I will explore some of the most interesting facts from the 2007 findings. We will focus mostly on statistics in developed nations, since rates of cancer are unfortunately statistically much higher in developing countries.

Cancer cases and mortality rate for 2007 and beyond
The findings estimate that for 2007 there was a total of 12 million new cancer cases worldwide. Out of these 12 million cases, 7.6 million resulted with the patients losing their lives. This figure amounts to an astonishing 20 000 deaths per day. This figure is expected to more than double by 2050. In 2050, there will be 27 million new cases per year and a total of 17.5 million deaths for the year. The article attributes this increase mostly to the world's aging population.

Cancer Trends
In underdeveloped countries, stomach and cervix cancers are some of the most frequent type of cancers. This is mostly due to chronic infections in these regions. These types of cancers are less common in developed countries where chronic infectious are not an issue. In developed countries, the use of tobacco, unhealthy diets and physical inactivity leads to other type's cancers such as lung & bronchus, breast, and colorectal cancers.

Preventing Cancer
The findings point to the fact that anyone, anywhere and at any time can develop cancer. But it is also estimates that 50% of cancers are avoidable. Some types of cancers can be prevented by eliminating tobacco or alcohol use. Healthy diets and staying in shape is also a great way of reducing the chance of getting cancer. Cancers like colorectal and cervix can be avoided by early detection and removal of pre-cancerous lesions.

Leading cancers for 2007
Worldwide the 3 most common cancers for women were Breast cancer with 1,301,867 new cases, Cervix & Colon cancer with 555,094 cases and Lung & Bronchus with 536,662 cases. For men, the most common cancers were Lung & Bronchus with 1,108,731 new cases, prostate with 782,647 cases and stomach cancer with 691,432 new cases. The article mentions that the risk of being diagnosed increases with age. In developed countries, 78% of new cancer diagnoses occur with individuals who are 55 years old or older.

The most important finding that we can obtain from these statistics, is the fact that worldwide 50% of all cancers are avoidable. With a combination of education and social policies that encourage healthy lifestyles, we could substantially reduce the amount of cases of this horrible disease.