| Report-at-a-Glance The Nation is making progress toward major cancer-related Healthy People 2010 targets. - The rates of both new cancer cases and cancer deaths are falling overall.
- Some prevention behaviors have shown improvement. Adult smoking is down dramatically since the 1960s, although rates fell only slightly in the 1990s. Alcohol and fat consumption is headed down, while fruit and vegetable consumption is up.
- The use of screening tests for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancers is increasing. Screening for colorectal cancer, however, remains low.
The Nation is losing ground in other important areas that demand attention. - Some cancers are rising dramatically, such as cancer of the esophagus and melanoma skin cancer. Lung cancer in women continues to rise, but not as rapidly as before.
- Youth smoking has been on the rise, though data show there may be a recent, promising decline.
- People are doing less to protect themselves from the sun.
- More people are overweight and obese, and physical activity is increasing only slightly.
- Cancer treatment spending continues to rise along with total health care spending.
- Unexplained cancer-related health disparities remain among population subgroups. For example, Blacks and people with low socioeconomic status have the highest overall rates for both new cancers and deaths.
The charts in this section summarize our Nation's progress against cancer. |
