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Cancer progress: much more than you wanted to know

Tags: cancer

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  1. autopsy_turvy
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    Some notable points in this article: Cancer death rates have generally decreased after 1990, especially when factoring the increase in life expectancy (more old people = more cancer instances)...

    Some notable points in this article:

    • Cancer death rates have generally decreased after 1990, especially when factoring the increase in life expectancy (more old people = more cancer instances)

    • Massive uptick in cancer cases (1975-1991) are mostly lung/mouth cancer, resulting from the explosion of cigarette use in the early 20th century. Campaigns/legislation to reduce smoking seemed to have made an significant impact on cancer rates.

    • Prostate cancer was the second-fastest-growing form (ratio of diagnoses, not tumor growth rate), but has been greatly alleviated due to a push in the 90's for more rigorous prostate exams during checkups (tumors are being eliminated far before the cancer becomes malignant)

    • While most all cancer cases are declining steadily, a few very rare forms are increasing slightly.

    • This is not an indication that we've got cancer under control, just that research is progressing better than public opinion tends to assume.

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