Ominous Plateau in Prevention Trends, Cancer Society Warns
Jump to full article: WebMD, 2008-04-22
Author: Daniel J. DeNoon WebMD Medical News
Intro: Some important U.S. cancer-prevention trends -- such as less smoking and more mammograms -- have stalled, the American Cancer Society warns.
Cancer deaths are down because of huge gains made over more than a decade of cancer-prevention efforts. Far fewer Americans smoke, far more get regular cancer screening, and lots more of us use sunscreen when we're outside. The result: Fewer U.S. cancer deaths.
We may have started taking these annual gains for granted, suggests Vilma Cokkinides, PhD, the American Cancer Society's�strategic director for risk factor surveillance. Cokkinides is co-author of the American Cancer Society�report, Cancer Prevention & Early Detection Facts and Figures 2008.
"These trends have been very favorable in the past, saving a lot of lives," Cokkinides tells WebMD. "It is concerning we are stalling. We want to see further improvements so we can save more lives." . . .
* Smoking rates for adults and teens dropped from 1997 to 2003. But they haven't gone down since then -- and 21% of adults and 23% of teens still smoke.
* For every dollar states spend on tobacco-control programs, the tobacco industry spends $24.
Jump to full article » |