Focus Area 3 has objectives to reduce cancer death rates, limit sun exposure, increase provider counseling for cancer preventive behaviors, increase the use of effective cancer screening tests, improve cancer surveillance, and increase survival after diagnosis. Since the publication of Healthy People 2010, progress has been made toward achieving many of these objectives.

Death rates from all cancers combined and from the four leading causes of cancer deaths (lung, colorectal, female breast, and prostate) declined, and the prostate cancer death rate exceeded its target. The cervical cancer death rate also decreased. Overall, survival from cancer increased. These reductions in cancer death rates contributed toward the overarching Healthy People 2010 goal to increase quality and years of healthy life. Although changes in years of life are relatively easy to monitor, how to measure and monitor improvements in quality of healthy life among cancer survivors remains a challenge.

More people received some recommended cancer screening tests. Mammography use increased, meeting its target, and increases occurred in colorectal cancer endoscopic screening and in the proportion of women ever having received Pap tests. In addition, the number of States with data on 95 percent of their cancer cases diagnosed within a year increased, improving national capacity to monitor trends in cancer rates.

Progress was not made on all objectives. Death rates from oropharyngeal cancer and melanoma, Pap test use within the recommended 3-year interval, primary care provider counseling for exercise, and the proportion of adults practicing skin cancer prevention remained unchanged from the baseline year. Use of the fecal occult blood test (FOBT) home kit for colorectal cancer screening decreased.

The elimination of health disparities in cancer prevention and control remains a challenge. Data sources for 15 cancer objectives and subobjectives collect information that allows for monitoring of disparities among 19 population groups. Of the 16 population characteristics displaying any change, 12 showed increases in disparities.

Progress was facilitated by the efforts of a wide variety of national, State, and local organizations, both governmental and nongovernmental, to promote the adoption of evidence-based interventions to improve the prevention, screening, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer.