CancerThe number of new cases of cancer is 454.8 per 100,000 men and women per year based on cases from 2008 to 2012. In 2016, an estimated 1,685 210 new cases of cancer will be diagnosed in the United States and 595,690 people will die from the disease. Survival rates are improving for many people with cancer, especially for those diagnosed at younger ages, but cancer remains a leading cause of death in the United States, but advances in radiation therapy, Chemotherapy and targeted treatments have improved survival, particularly for breast, prostate, lung, liver and colon cancer (Rosen, 2016). Different types of cancers are constantly evolving, so the question here is... are cancer treatments getting better? How have cancer rates changed today since then? According to the WebMD website, the United States has the seventh highest cancer rate in the world. Half of us will hear the words "you have cancer" at some point in our lives (2005). This is a striking figure. And it's a reminder, one that should remind us all, of the challenge we face in beating this disease. That doesn't mean we're not making progress: Today, more people than ever before are beating cancer. Survival has doubled over the past 40 years (2005). More than three quarters of all people diagnosed with cancer are over 60. Because cancer is a disease of our genes, pieces of DNA encode the instructions for all the microscopic machinery inside our cells. Over time, errors accumulate in this code – scientists can now see them written into the cancer's DNA. And it’s these mistakes that can start a cell’s journey toward cancer. The longer we live, the more time we have for mistakes to accumulate. As time passes, our risk of developing cancer increases because we are also linked to cancer. Being exposed to them or working with them can increase the risk of cancer. Call us to learn more about carcinogens (cancer-causing substances) that may be around you, or visit the “Other Carcinogens” section of our website. Cancers are constantly evolving, January 24, 2011. About 300 out of 100,000 Americans each develop cancer. year, meaning the United States has the seventh highest cancer rate in the world. The good news is that scientists estimate that up to a third of the most common cancers can be prevented by maintaining a healthy weight, being more physically active and eating more. healthily. The high incidence of cancer in the United States and other countries is not inevitable. Lifestyle changes can really make a difference. For example, maintaining a healthy weight throughout life could prevent more than 100,000 cases of cancer (Rosen, 2010).