U.S. cancer death rates on the decline

• 1.8% decline in cancer deaths for men in the U.S. from 2004 through 2008
• 1.6% decline in cancer deaths for women in the U.S. over the same period source

» The march of medical advancement: That’s what’s being touted as the cause for this heartening reversal of trend, as reported by the American Cancer Society’s annual report. The news isn’t entirely as rosy as it might be — some less pervasive types of cancer, such as pancreas, kidney, liver and esophageal have seen their incidences rise. The most common types — lung, breast, colon, and prostate — all saw declines, however, with black and Hispanic men demographically showing the most improvement in avoiding the lethal diseases.

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