I saw a great example today of how the simple statement of facts can produce erroneous assumptions. The headlines read "Cancer passes Heart Disease as the nations number one killer." So that means what? It is a fact. Cancer is now number one. The erroneous assumption, however, is that cancer is on the rise. A more accurate headline would have read, "Heart Disease falls behind Cancer as the leading cause of death in America." Truth is - Cancer and Heart Disease deaths are both falling, due to many casues. Heart Disease is falling quicker, and thus Cancer has now become number one. I think this type of misleading error, based in sensationalism in reporting, contributes to false assumptions about many political and social issues. How sees thee? Barry
Here are the facts if anyone is interested. Cancer Surpasses Heart Disease Mortality in US: Report WASHINGTON (Reuters) Jan 20 - More Americans are surviving cancer and rates in general are falling, mostly because fewer people are smoking, but in 2005 more people under 85 years old are expected to die of cancer than of heart disease, the American Cancer Society (ACS) reported on Wednesday. "When deaths are aggregated by age, cancer has surpassed heart disease as the leading cause of death for persons younger than 85 since 1999," the ACS's 2005 report states. However, these estimates compare cancer with heart disease only, and exclude related cardiovascular diseases, according to a statement issued by the American Heart Association. The ACS predicts that 1.372 million Americans will be diagnosed with cancer in 2005 and 570,280 will die of it. This does not include one million cases of basal and squamous cell carcinoma, which are usually not fatal. This compares with 1.368 million cases in 2004 and 563,700 deaths. Overall numbers will be higher in 2005 because the population is growing in size and growing older, the group said, noting that 76% of cancer cases are diagnosed in people over the age of 55. "The death rate from all cancers combined has decreased by 1.5% per year since 1993 among men and by 0.8% per year since 1992 among women," the report points out. "Overall, the major reason for the decline in mortality rates is progress in tobacco control," Elizabeth Ward, director of surveillance research for the group, told a telephone news briefing. She said smoking causes about one third of all cancer cases, and poor diet and a lack of exercise cause another third. Cancer is the second leading cause of death in most developed countries, after heart disease. One in four Americans will die of cancer. "Death rates for all cancers at all three major sites in men have been decreasing," Ward said, referring to lung cancer, prostate cancer and colon cancer. But rates of death among men from liver and esophageal cancer have been rising, probably because of obesity, Ward said. Better detection and treatment have lowered breast cancer mortality, but more cases are being diagnosed. More cases of colon and cervical cancer are also being detected, but screening can prevent these cancers or catch them at early, more curable stages. Thyroid cancer cases are up in women -- the group predicts there will be 19,190 in 2005 compared with 17,640 in 2004. About 860 women will die of thyroid cancer in 2005. Ward said it may be due to better screening or more frequent screening. The 5-year survival rate for all cancers is 64%, up from 50% for those first diagnosed in 1976. But the latest data on survival come from 2000 and rates are probably higher now, the report said. Only about 5% of all cancers are caused by inherited genetic mutations, Ward said, but there is another preventable cause -- viruses, which cause about 17% of cancers globally. They include liver cancer caused by hepatitis B and C, cervical cancer caused by HPV and Kaposi's sarcoma caused by HHV-8, commonly seen in AIDS patients. In 2005, the American Cancer Society predicts there will be: -- 232,090 cases of prostate cancer with 30,350 deaths -- 212,930 cases of breast cancer, with 40,870 deaths -- 172,570 cases of lung cancer with 163,510 deaths -- 104,950 cases of colon cancer, with 56,290 deaths -- 59,580 cases of melanoma, with 7,770 deaths -- 56,390 cases of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, with 19,200 deaths.
