Cancer: The Second Leading Cause of Deaths in the US
If the association between age and the incidence of cancer continues its current trend in the coming decades, cancer will likely overtake heart disease as the leading cause of death in the US. This association between aging and increasing death rates due to cancer also characterizes other developed countries around the world.
Lung Cancer Epidemic
Global Lung Cancer Epidemic
(Source: World Health Organization)
In countries where lung cancer is not already the leading cause of cancer mortality, it is projected to become so in the very near future. Globally in the year 2000 over 1.1 million people died from lung cancer, and the mortality rate is growing at an epidemic rate.
Prostate Cancer: The Most Prevalent Cancer in American Men
There are over 540,000 new prostate cancer cases each year (source: Globocan 2000, Global Cancer Incidence and Mortality). In the USA prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men, affecting 1 in 6 males (source: American Cancer Society). Increased screening for prostate cancer will likely lead to an increased frequency of diagnosed cancer cases in the coming years. While this practice will hopefully lead to earlier treatment and a lower mortality rate, it will also increase the numbers of prostate cancer survivors (over 150,000 new people per year in the USA alone) whose primary concern will be the recurrence of a more aggressive form of the cancer.