Health Status > Health Indicators
Cancer
It is estimated that almost 274,000 women will
die of cancer in 2006. Lung and bronchus cancer causes 26 percent
of cancer deaths among women, while the next most common cause of
cancer death is breast cancer, which causes 15 percent of deaths.
Colon and rectal cancer, pancreatic cancer, and cancer of the ovaries
are also leading causes of cancer death among women. Although lung
and bronchus cancer causes the greatest number of deaths, breast
cancer is the most common type of cancer among women. This is due
to relatively high survival rates for breast cancer and low survival
rates for lung and bronchus cancer. For instance, in 1995-2001,
the 5-year lung and bronchus cancer survival rates among White and
Black women were 17.7 and 15.6 percent, respectively, compared to
89.5 and 75.9 percent for breast cancer.
Cancer is diagnosed in stages, which are based
upon how far the cancer has traveled from the original site. Localized
cancer is confined to the organ of origin, while regional cancer
has extended to the surrounding organs, tissues, or lymph nodes.
The most serious stage is distant, which indicates that the cancer
has spread to parts of the body remote from the primary tumor. Some
cancers are also categorized as unstaged because the information
necessary for them to be categorized is not available. The majority
of breast cancers that occur among both White and Black women of
all ages are localized. However, regional breast cancer occurs more
frequently in Black women and younger women of both races than among
White women and older women. Distant cancer occurs more frequently
in Black women than White women; however, these rates vary little
by age for either race. The higher incidence of advanced breast
cancer among Black women may be due in part to delayed diagnosis
and treatment among this group.
Cancers of the lung and bronchus and of the colon
and rectum are the second and third most common types of cancer
among women, following breast cancer. The incidence of lung and
bronchus cancer among women has increased over the past several
decades. In 1975, the rate was 24.9 per 100,000 White women and
24.7 per 100,000 Black women; in 2002 those rates were 52.4 and
59.9, respectively. Diagnoses of colon and rectal cancer have dropped
slightly among White women during the same period (from 54.0 to
44.8 per 100,000) while they have remained relatively stable among
Black women.
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HORIZONTAL BAR CHART: Selected Causes of Cancer Deaths
for Females, by Site, 2006 Estimates
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VERTICAL BAR CHART: 5-Year Malignant Lung and Bronchus
Cancer and Breast Cancer Relative Survival Rates for Females, 1995-2001
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VERTICAL BAR CHART: Stage Distribution of Breast Cancer,
by Age and Race, 1995-2001
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LINE CHART: Age-Adjusted Malignant Lung/Bronchus
Cancer and Colon/Rectal Cancer Rates Among Females, by Race, 1975-2002
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