Showing posts with label cancer statistics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cancer statistics. Show all posts

Monday, 1 June 2009

Breast Cancer Statistics

As the awareness of breast cancer increases, so does the availability of information on the disease to the general public. There has been much research done on the disease, which includes the statistics on its prevalence and survival rates. Below is an enumeration of these statistics.

Recent figures

Breast cancer has been proven to be the second leading cause of cancer deaths in women today. It is also the most common form of cancer among women. This trend is expected to continue. Studies conducted by the World Health Organization estimate that for 2006, there will be 1.2 million women who will be diagnosed with breast cancer.

Studies have also shown that a woman?s chance of developing breast cancer during her lifetime is about 1 out of 7 or 13.4 percent. However, breast cancer is not restricted to women. Studies also estimate that thousands of men will be diagnosed with the disease.

With regard to death rates, it is estimated that the chance that breast cancer will be the cause for a woman?s death is about 1 in 33, or 3 percent. In recent years, the incidence of breast cancer death has declined. Doctors attribute these declines to early detection and new treatments.

Figures also show that the chance of having the disease increases with age. By the age of 30, the chance of having the disease is 1 out of 2,212. For women over the age of 80, the chance increases to 1 out of 8. However, the survival rates are less for younger women because they tend to have more aggressive forms of cancer. It has also been proven that white, Hawaiian and African-American women have the highest incidence of breast cancer as opposed to their Asian counterparts who have some of the lowest incidence rates.

Studies also show that early detection increases the survival rate by as much as 96 percent, especially for those women who detect breast cancer in its first stage. However, the survival rates for patients who have had the disease decreases after five years.

These figures tell us a number of things. One of these is that the key to surviving breast cancer is early detection. Another important thing is that women need to be aware of the risks that they face and that they should take preventive measures to mitigate the effects of this dreaded disease.

Steve Valentino

Breast Cancer provides detailed information on Breast Cancer, Breast Cancer Treatments, Breast Cancer Symptoms, Cause Of Breast Cancer and more. Breast Cancer is affiliated with Hodgkins Lymphoma.

Wednesday, 27 May 2009

Breast Cancer Statistics - Survival Rates Increased 50%

From the desk of Dr Magne, author of Cancer Free For Life

Breast cancer statistics show that over 1.2 million persons will be diagnosed with breast cancer worldwide this year, according to the World Health Organization. Regular physical activity has been shown to decrease the likelihood of having breast cancer. What has not been known or studied has been the effect of regular physical activity on the breast cancer survival rates or likelihood of death in women that already have breast cancer. That is, until now.

The breast cancer statistics and findings as reported by the American Medical Association's Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) were astounding! Certain participants in the study of women with Stage I, II or III breast cancer achieved a 50% reduction in the death rate from breast cancer.

Here are these breast cancer statistics: the journal reported that in the study 2,987 female registered nurses had been diagnosed with breast cancer during the years 1984-1998. What the study found was that the women who had physical activity equivalent to walking at a steady pace of 2.0-2.9 miles per hour for 3-5 hours a week had a death rate of only 50% of the death rate of women who had physical activity equivalent to walking less than one hour a week. The conclusion of the breast cancer statistics in the study was that physical activity after breast cancer has been diagnosed may reduce the risk of death from breast cancer. The study found that there was little evidence of any relation between increased physical activity and increased benefit.

It's time to dust off those walking shoes!

As a physical activity, walking can be done almost anytime by anyone anywhere. All that's needed is a good pair of walking shoes. Walking is fun and reduces stress. As for injuries, walking has the lowest injury rate of all the various kinds of exercise.

You can walk with a partner, friend, family member or dog, maybe even a neighbor's dog. Or you can walk with your favorite headset and music. If you are walking outdoors with a headset, keep one ear open to hear the sounds around you.

As for basic walking tips:

  1. As you begin regular walking, take it easy. Standard advice is to check with your physician before starting any exercise program. If it's been years or decades since you walked regularly, perhaps you can begin with 5 minutes of walking and slowly increase your time and distance.
  2. Walking at a pace of 75-95 steps a minute will have you walking at a speed of about 2-3 miles per hour.
  3. Walk with your head up, looking out in front of you. Do not walk looking down right in front of you except to navigate any obstacles.
  4. Really take it easy the first 5 minutes of walking to warm up. Afterwards, gently stretch for 5-10 minutes while your muscles are warm.
  5. Practice good walking form. Your arms should swing naturally in the direction you're walking, not from side to side across your body. Your foot should strike the ground on your heel, then a rolling motion forward toward the ball of your foot, then pushing off with your toes.

And here are some basic walking shoes tips:

  1. Buy your walking shoes from a sporting shoes store with large selections. That will give you plenty of choices. And buy your walking shoes later in the day when your feet will be larger.
  2. Buy cushioned, supportive walking shoes. To see if a shoe is supportive, do this test -- take a shoe and turn it upside down. Holding each end of the shoe, try to fold it. If you find the shoe bends in the middle, then that shoe is not a supportive shoe. A supportive shoe should bend where your foot normally bends, near your toes.
  3. You should allow the width of your index finger between the end of your shoe and the end of your longest toe, or about one-half inch.

Walking is the closest thing to the perfect exercise. In today's fast-paced society, regular walking can be a welcomed break from the stress of the day. Maybe you'll get to know your neighborhood or neighbors better. There may be walking trails you've never seen but wanted to.

Wherever and however you choose to walk, not only can the experience be fun, you'll know you're being good to your body in a variety of ways. Besides the incredible breast cancer statistics and findings of the breast cancer study, walking helps with weight control and bone strength, elevates mood, helps build and maintain healthy muscles, joints and heart. With so many great health benefits, why not get started walking today!

Dr Laurence Magne

Dr Magne has been researching the origins and causes of disease and cancer for the past 25 years. Visit http://www.cancer-free-for-life.com to receive a FREE report on The 10 Ways to Cure Cancer Immediately. This article is available for reprint for your website and newsletter, provided that you maintain i

Tuesday, 26 May 2009

Breast Cancer Overview - Breast Cancer Statistics

The American Cancer Society estimates that 212,930 new cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed and 40,870 will die of breast cancer in the United States in 2005. Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in women in the United States and is second only to
lung cancer as a cause of cancer death.

The incidence of breast cancer has increased steadily in the United States over the past few decades, but breast cancer mortality appears to be declining. This suggests a benefit from early detection and more effective treatment.

The etiology of the vast majority of breast cancer cases is unknown. However, numerous risk factors for the disease have been established.

These risk factors include female gender, increasing patient age, family history of breast cancer at a young age, early menarche, late menopause, older age at first live childbirth, prolonged hormone replacement therapy, previous exposure to therapeutic chest wall irradiation, benign proliferative breast disease, and genetic mutations such as the and genes. However, except for female gender and increasing patient age, these risk factors are associated with only a minority of breast cancers. Women with a strong family history of breast cancer should be evaluated according to the . Women at increased risk for breast cancer (generally those with a greater than 1.67% 5-year risk of breast cancer using the Gail model of risk assessment ) may consider risk reduction strategies (see ).

Proliferative abnormalities of the breast are limited to the lobular and ductal epithelium. In both the lobular and ductal epithelium,a spectrum of proliferative abnormalities may be seen, including hyperplasia, atypical hyperplasia, in situ carcinoma, and invasive carcinoma. Approximately 85% to 90% of invasive carcinomas are ductal in origin. The invasive ductal carcinomas include unusual variants of breast cancer, such as colloid or mucinous, adenoid cystic, and tubular carcinomas, which have especially favorable natural histories.

Some types of food can contribute to the development of cancer; other foods lessen the risk. The following anti-cancer diet greatly lowers your risk of colorectal cancer and nearly all other types of cancers. It can also prevent cardiovascular disease. For people with a genetic tendency toward colorectal cancer, it is not just an option, it's a lifesaving necessity.

John Eminescu

I am a 27 years old writer. I currently work at my first book. Find more related articles on cancer treatment on http://cancer-cure-diet.info

Monday, 25 May 2009

Colon Cancer Statistics

Colon cancer is one of the most feared types of cancer by both men and women. The reason is that colon cancer is now fourth on the most known cancer list in many countries around the world. It is also known to be the second most common cause of death in countries like the United State of America. So, I belive these are some pretty good reasons to fear colon cancer, am I right?

If you belive that these are not good enough reasons to fear colon cancer, then here are some more statistics about this type of cancer. A person that has reached the age of fifty has almost five percent risk of being diagnosed with colon cancer. Furthermore, people at this age have also a three percent risk of dying from colon cancer. If these statistics about colon cancer still do not worry you, then you should also know that a person that dies from colon cancer looses almost thirteen years of his/ her life, which is a pretty big number if you ask me.

Moreover, statistics say that more than eight percent of all colon cancer cases arise from a certain type of polyps called adenomatous. If these polyps are smaller than one centimeter, then the risk of developing colon cancer is less than one percent. However, if these polyps are bigger than one centimeter, then the risk of colon cancer rises. Ten percent of these polyps turn into colon cancer in then years time and more than twenty percent in twenty year' s time. Furthermore as time also passes by the risk of developing colon cancer increase as well. If at the age of forty, the risk of those polyps becoming malignant was about twenty percent, then at fifty it increases to twenty five percent and at the age of seventy the percentage goes as high as fifty.

Most of the colon cancer cases happen in people that are not exposed to any particular risk factors. However, twenty percent of colon cancer cases occur in people with certain risk factors. Family history of colon cancer is the most common of these risk factors. A small percentage of these cases, almost six percent, are also caused by genetic syndromes. People that suffer from ulcerative colitis are also more at risk of developing colon cancer as so are those that have been diagnosed with large polyps or even with colon cancer.

Groshan Fabiola

For more resource on different colon cancer subjects please click this link http://www.colon-cancer-center.com. You can also find valuable information about stage3 colon cancer or even about colon cancer diet

Sunday, 24 May 2009

Prostate Cancer Statistics That Will Help Your Fight Against The Disease

The prostate gland, found only in men, is located underneath the bladder. Shaped like a donut and about the size of a walnut, it surrounds the urethra -- the tube that carries urine from the bladder. The prostate's primary function is to produce seminal fluid which mixes with sperm during ejaculation.

Prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer that affects men in Western society. This particular form of cancer grows more slowly than others however, and sometimes may not even require any treatment. But some grow more quickly and can spread to other parts of the body, such as the surrounding bones, which can cause a lot of pain. In the USA, UK, Australia and Canada there are approximately 280,000 new cases diagnosed each year.

A common symptom that indicates the presence of the disease includes difficulty urinating, especially at night, and sometimes even the complete inability to urinate. Other symptoms can include a weak urine stream, lower back pain, blood found in the urine, pain during urination, and pain in the upper thighs and hips. These symptoms don't necessarily mean that you have prostate cancer, and may only be an indication of benign prostate hypertrophy, or BPH, which is simply the enlargement of the prostate. In any case, you should consult your doctor for a thorough diagnosis.

Research that seeks to determine the underlying causes of prostate cancer have been unable so far to come to a definitive conclusion. However, there have been a number of risk factors that have been identified. One risk factor is thought to be radiation, which is a likely reason for some cases. Around 10% of patients are men that have a family history of prostate cancer, which suggests that genetics plays a role. It is generally believed that a family history of prostate cancer can increase your risk anywhere from two to five times.

The most important risk factor appears to be age. Men under the age of 50 are very unlikely to develop prostate cancer, but over half or all prostate cancer cases are men over the age of 75.

Other research suggests that the quality of your diet can affect your risk of developing prostate cancer. To minimize the risk, try to follow a low-fat diet, and eat lots of foods that contain lycopene -- tomatoes and cruciform vegetables, such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts and cabbage. Vitamin E also appears to be effective according to some studies, however this hasn't been fully confirmed. Another possibility is selenium; some studies suggest a daily dosage of 200mcg can reduce your risk of prostate cancer.

One common myth that has been thoroughly debunked is the belief that have a vasectomy increases a man's susceptibility to prostate cancer. This is simply untrue; there is no noticeable difference in prostate cancer rates among men who have and have not had a vasectomy.

Remember, the most important key to successful treatment is early diagnosis of the disease. Once prostate cancer reaches the advanced stages it can be very difficult to cure, and the threat of the cancer spreading to other parts of the body also increases the longer you wait. If you are reached the age of 50, make sure you understand the symptoms and get regular checkups.

John Landrum

Are you looking for information about prostate cancer statistics? For more important information on prostate cancer, the prostate gland, and prostate cancer prevention and treatments, please visit http://www.onlineprostatehealth.com for more information.


Saturday, 23 May 2009

Cancer, Patient, and Statistics

“There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.”

Benjamin Disraeli

You open a book on cancer and it would more likely than not start with numbers: So many thousand were diagnosed with the disease in such a period and so many died. They will also give a prognosis as to how these numbers would look like for a period in the future. In the case of prostate cancer in particular we are told that in the coming year so many thousand men will find out that they are afflicted with the disease and another number also in thousand, will succumb to it, some of them unnecessarily. These numbers are significant in as much as they indicate the extent and trend of the disease. But how meaningful are they to an individual? Can he benefit from this knowledge? We can put the answer to these questions also in terms of numbers - fifty for yes fifty for no. There are no known precautions that a man can take to ward off the disease. One can have regular tests and examinations to insure early detection that would help in deciding the course of treatment. But early detection by itself is no guarantee for cure. As long as a person is not a confirmed patient these numbers are impersonal like the statistics on the number of people dead or likely to die in traffic accidents in a given period.

However, the situation changes as soon as the person becomes a part of the statistic. Now he moves into the realm of other numbers. For each treatment option available to him he is confronted with numbers related to the success of these options. He is told of survival rates and now we are talking not just numbers but probabilities. Not that probability is new to us. We deal with them in every day life without even being conscious of it They are wrapped up in weather forecasts, sports, in economic events, and so on. In fact probability and statistics have become an integral part of our lives, even determine the quality of life through processes ranging from mundane ones like quality control of consumer goods to highly sophisticated like space communications.

But statistics by its very nature is impersonal, it deals with a population or sample. Means and averages are meaningless when applied to a particular member of the sample. We have all watched the Dow Jones average soar during the past couple of years. It is supposed to indicate the state of the economy. On the average we would think that everyone playing the stock market would have doubled or tripled his investment. I know several persons whose portfolios shrank during that period. It does not, of course, negate the fact that many stocks soared and people made money in the market. The point is, though, that the statistical results cannot be applied directly to an individual. It is all the more so when we are using statistics in the field of medicine where the unknowns and variables are far more than in other fields.

I have a friend who recently had cataract surgery. These days it is supposed to be a routine procedure with hardly any chance of serious complications. If one insisted on getting numbers, the doctor might put the probability of things going wrong at less than one percent. A month after surgery my friend did develop a problem - for no apparent reason the implanted lens had moved and he had only peripheral vision in that eye. The doctor could not explain it; in fifteen years of his experience with this procedure it had happened only twice. That was, of course, no consolation to my friend; for him the less-than-one percent probability had changed into certainty. He had to get the procedure done again and was terrified at the prospect of things going wrong again. When it comes to personal life there are things over which no one has any control. There is an element of luck in every sphere of activity in life; some may deny its existence but denial does not negate the fact.

There is another aspect of statistics that may present problems; it is the size of the sample or the database. The larger the database, the more reliable are the results. For statisticians, of course, there is never enough data; it may be adequate but it is not the same as enough. In the case of prostate cancer the data is not extensive, at least in some respects, and the statistical inferences may therefore be viewed with caution. For a patient confronted with a decision as to the course of treatment the database for most options is small.

For the options of definitive treatment ten-year survival numbers were available only for radical surgery; for brachytherapy the data did not go that far back for any meaningful analysis. The choice becomes more difficult when the patient has to choose a particular surgeon or oncologist. Then he has to know that particular doctor’s numbers and the size of the sample shrinks to an inadequate level. And then there is the question of luck also. A patient can have problems even with the most experienced and famous surgeon, while another may come out fine with another relatively unknown doctor. One can certainly attempt to obtain the best possible facility and care within his reach not worrying about things beyond his control. To that extent the numbers become less important, they should be used as general guidelines only.

How important is the statistics? If we had to base everything on experience and statistics, there would be no new approaches, no developments. For breaking new grounds it is necessary to venture into the unknown, it is true for any field of knowledge. This is not to belittle the role of accumulated knowledge and experience. To probe the unknown it is imperative to make full use of all that is known. In this process, though, it is sometimes necessary to ignore or go against the accumulated evidence or the statistics. This happens, and not infrequently, in the field of medicine where new data force a revision of opinions based on old. What is considered normal today may not remain so tomorrow.

This brings us to the all-important number for prostate cancer - the prostate specific antigen (PSA) level. This number by itself has nothing to do with statistics. It represents a test result, an observation. However, it provides the raw material for building statistics. After a series of revisions in the past the normal range of PSA is taken to be from zero to four. Without going into the mathematical definition of the word normal, this statement can be interpreted to mean the following: If the PSA is measured for a sufficiently large number of men having no prostate problem, a significant majority of them would have PSA lying between zero and four; the exact percentage will depend on the specific distribution.

Conversely if the measured PSA for a man is within this range, he most probably does not have any prostate problem. The remaining may have PSA beyond this range, i.e. greater than four, since negative values are not possible, and still be disease free. The farther the number from four, the smaller would be the percentage of men having that PSA level. Mathematically this percentage will never become zero, but for all practical purposes there must be a limit. A man having PSA higher than this limit would certainly have a prostate problem. What is this limit and where can one draw the line? I do not think anyone can answer these questions. So the mathematical aspects of the term ‘normal’ are ignored and a rule of thumb is applied: Any test result yielding PSA of greater than four is suspect and further tests are needed. If the additional tests do not show an obvious problem, the person is put in the wait and watch mode. He is not a patient yet but may soon be.

However, even with this ‘primary’ number we run into ambiguities. If the PSA level for a person is below four, it does not automatically mean that he is cancer free. About twenty percent of prostate cancer patients have PSA below four. As a corollary it may be expected that an equal number of men having PSA greater than four would not have the cancer. So PSA alone cannot unambiguously reveal the presence of the cancer.

Once the cancer has been detected there is another number that indicates the degree of activity of the tumor. It is called Gleason score and is determined from pathological analysis of the biopsy samples; it ranges from two to ten. The higher the number, the more active is the cancer. A score of seven and above usually means a highly active fast growing cancer, perhaps in an advanced stage. Gleason score plays an equally important role in the choice of a treatment but by its very nature it is no more reliable than the PSA level.

On the other hand if the tests confirm the presence of cancer, the person is faced with immediate decision. The first question that comes up - and this has to be answered by the doctor - is whether the cancer is contained within the gland or it has spread outside. Even the doctor cannot answer without recourse to surgery and with that too he can not say anything with certainty. The absence of malignant cells at the lymph node does not preclude the possibility of the cells having migrated into the areas just outside the prostate. Again a rule of thumb is applied: If the PSA is not too far out of the normal range, the cancer is assumed to be localized. Now we are stuck with the problem of defining the term ‘too far’. I do not think any urologist would be willing to draw the line or even set a reasonable range. Unfortunately the survivability numbers, thrown at the patient, are affected by this uncertainty.

Dharmbir Rai Sharma

Dharmbir Rai Sharma is a retired professor with electrical engineering and physics background. He obtained his M.S. degree in physics in India and Ph.D. in electrical engineering at Cornell University. He has taught in universities here and also in Brazil, where he spent sometime. He maintains a website http://www.cosmosebooks.com devoted mainly to philosophy and science.

Friday, 22 May 2009

Alarming Breast Cancer Statistics

It is estimated, that every three minutes a woman in the United States is diagnosed with breast cancer. This cancer is the leading cancer among white and African American women. This cancer incidence in women has increased from one in 20 in 1960 to one in eight today.

While the majority of cancer occurs in older people, young people are not immune to this disease. This cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in women today (after lung cancer) and is the most common cancer among women, excluding non-melanoma skin cancers.

According to the American Cancer Society, about 1.3 million women will be diagnosed with this cancer annually worldwide and about 465,000 will die from the disease. Breast cancer death rates have been dropping steadily since 1990, according to the Society, because of earlier detection and better treatments.

However, about 40,910 breast cancer deaths are expected in 2008. According to the American Cancer Society, in general, this cancer rates have risen about 30% in the past 25 years in western countries, due in part to increased screening which detects the cancer in earlier stages. In the United States, though, this cancer rates decreased by 10% between 2000-2004, due in part to a reduction in the use of hormone replacement therapy. Although this cancer rates are rising in many western countries, deaths from the disease have decreased in some countries as a result of improved screening and treatment.

So when looking at individual statistics by age group, the probability of developing breast cancer within the next 10 years are as follows:

By age 20... 1 out of 229

By age 30... 1 out of 68

By age 40... 1 out of 37

By age 50... 1 out of 26

By age 60... 1 out of 24

By age 70... 1 out of 8

Plus, in someone's lifetime, 1 out of every 1985 women will develop this cancer. This risk model is of course based on population averages. Each woman's cancer risk may be higher or lower, depending upon a several factors, including family history, genetics, age of menstruation, and other factors that have not yet been identified.

Here are some more gloomy facts on breast cancer statistics...

This cancer is the most common cancer among women.

In 2008, an estimated 22,400 women will be diagnosed with this cancer and 5,300 will die of it.

An estimated 170 men will be diagnosed with this cancer and 50 will die of it.

On average, 431 women will be diagnosed with this cancer every week.

On average, 102 women will die of this cancer every week.

One in 9 women is expected to develop this cancer during her lifetime. One in 28 will die of it.

Breast cancer death rates have declined in all ages combined and in every age group since at least the mid 1990s.

Incidence and death rates for this cancer have declined since 1969 in women aged 20-39.

While this cancer is less common at a young age (i.e., in their thirties), younger women tend to have more aggressive cancers than older women, which may explain why survival rates are lower among younger women.

All women are at risk for developing this cancer. The older a woman is, the greater her chances of developing this cancer. Approximately 77% of this cancer cases occur in women over 50 years of age.

White, Hawaiian, and African-American women have the highest incidence of invasive cancer in the United States (approximately four times higher than the lowest group).

Korean, American Indian, and Vietnamese women have the lowest incidence of invasive ancer in the United States.

African-American have the highest death rate from this cancer and are more likely to be diagnosed with a later stage of breast cancer than White women.

In the age groups, 30-54 and 55-69 years, African-American women have the highest death rate from this cancer, followed by Hawaiian women, and white non-Hispanic women. However, in the 70 year old age group, the death rate from this cancer for white women is higher than for African-American.

Pay particular attention to the statistics on Korean, American Indian, and Vietnamese women which have the lowest incidence of invasive breast cancer in the United States. Why do you think that is? If you've been paying attention to my other articles, you'll soon come to realize that this is because of their lifestyles, and more specifically their low-fat diets.


J.G. Michel

J.G. Michel, regular contributor on issues of health, is founder of the exclusive cancer helpbreast cancer resource, Cancer-Help-Treatment.com Visit this site for exclusive information relating to

Thursday, 21 May 2009

Testicular Cancer Statistics - See For Yourself How Testicular Cancer is Highly Treatable

Testicular cancer statistics are widely available and as more clinical trials are carried out we can see that survival rates are increasing all the time. Here are just a few stats to give those worried about testicular cancer and those living with it (as well as their caregivers) much to be hopeful about.

Tumor Limited To The Testis

When the testicle is removed and the pathology report shows that it is combined to the testis alone (common if discovered early) then you have about a 75% to 85% chance that you are already cured. Many survivors opt to go onto "surveillance" which means careful watching every few month with CT scans, instead of treatment.

It is incredibly rare with any cancer to be able to make a lifestyle decision to reject treatment in favor of surveillance. Testicular cancer is unique in this respect.

Most Common Cancer For Men Aged 18 to 40

Cancer is thankfully quite rare for most men in this age group. Testicular cancer itself is also rare, in general.

But for those in this age group, testicular cancer is the most common type of cancer and is also on the rise.

By doing monthly self examination, you can detect any tumors early and get quick medical treatment.

98% Survive

Out of all types of testicular cancers (some more or less aggressive than others), the survival rate after ten years is around 98%.

Unlike other cancers, testicular cancer will rarely relapse after this time period. Also unlike other cancers, testicular cancer is highly treatable. Very few other cancers are so responsive to treatment. We are lucky to live in this age because this statistic was not the case 30 years ago.

Chris Wensley

Worried about testicular cancer or just want to educate yourself about it? Get the info you need at Testicular Cancer Library.


Wednesday, 20 May 2009

The Reality Breast Cancer Statistics Reveal

Statistics can give the rates of incidence for breast cancer in certain groups of people. They can show which groups have the highest mortality rates. They can also show who is doing the most to prevent it.

Aside from skin cancers, breast cancer is the most prevalent kind of cancer among women. These statistics show that over 25% of the cancers women are diagnosed with are breast cancers.

The stats for age groups are even more startling. For the years 2000 through 2004, 95% of the new cases were found in women who were 40 years of age or older. Of all the deaths caused during this time, 97% of them were in this same group of women.

White women have rates from 105 to 153 per 100,000 depending on the state. African-American women have these incidence rates from 68.5 to 129.8 in different states. The differences are not merely a function of the rate of the disease, but also of the rate of detection.

Women get mammograms and clinical breast exams are as little as 16.2% of women with no usual source of health care in Missouri. As a contrast, 64.9% of women aged 40 to 64 in the state of Delaware had the same screening procedures. These breast cancer statistics show that some groups of women are getting far better medical care than others in this country.

It is unfortunate that African-American women do not fare very well in the for mortality rates. While they generally have a lower incidence rate than white women, their mortality rates are higher. 90% of white women survive their breast cancer by 5 years, but only 77% of African-American women do. Better health insurance and health care can bring the survival breast cancer statistics of African-American women up to a higher level.

The most important use of these statistics to identify groups of people who need better preventative care and disease treatment. As scientists and statisticians gather their facts, many women are waiting for a better and longer life through breast cancer awareness.

Gary Giardina

More Information on Breast Cancer: http://www.healthbreastcancer.com/

Tuesday, 19 May 2009

Cervical Cancer Statistics

It is normal to want to find out about the statistics of something, especially cancer, if you, a friend or a family member has been recently diagnosed. Well, the fact is, first of all, you, or that person, where not the only ones today to be diagnosed. In the United States alone, 11,150 women this year will be diagnosed with invasive cervical cancer. That is roughly 30 females a day, every day, for a year, in America alone.

In the United Kingdom, the statistics of diagnoses in 2003 where 24,105, which is double the American count in 2007. The following year, the number increased to 2,726, causing the UK to account for about 2% of all female cancers, and making Cervical Cancer specifically the twelfth most common cancer in women.

As far as death goes, in 2005, there were 1,061 deaths from Cervical Cancer in the UK. So out of the roughly 60 women who were diagnosed in one day, only 2 didn’t make it, which is not bad. From 1955 to 1992 the death rate has dropped slowly from 74%. Women are going more regularly for Pap Smear tests, which reduces their chances of dying from cervical cancer. The earlier the cancer is discovered, the higher the rate of getting rid of it. Currently the death rate of cervical cancer is on 4%.

The chances are higher that you will be diagnosed during your midlife. About half of woman will be diagnosed between the ages of 35 and 55. Because, as women get older they don’t realize that their risk of getting cervical cancer is still high, slightly over 20% of women over the age of 65 get diagnosed. In the UK, 91% of all cases of diagnosed Cervical Cancer are of women who are under the age of 45, the peak incidence being in the 25 to 29 age group.

The two factors that come into play when beating cancer are the stage of cancer they are at and the person’s age. If the cancer is diagnosed in what is known as the pre-cancerous stage, which is when the abnormal cells of cancer are discovered, but haven’t turned cancerous yet, almost every women will be treated and cured. Statistically, it is a 92%. From a medical viewpoint, this is called a “5 year survival rate”. This doesn’t mean that the women who were diagnosed lives for 5 years and then dies, but that the woman lives at least five years after their initial treatment.

Generally, if a person lives for 5 years without the cancer recurring, the chances of it coming back are very small. The overall statistic is that 7 out of 10 women will survive the 5 years. In low developing countries where Pap Smears are not regularly done; the survival rate can drop down to 40%

The one-year survival rate in the UK was just over 40% a decade ago. The five-year wasn’t that much higher. In comparison, for women diagnosed in 2000, the odds have been increased by 20% to 60%. In the last 7 years, their chances have just been improving further.

Every year the statistics are getting better and compared to other cancers, cervical is becoming less and less of a concern as the general awareness of it grows. It might seem just another thing to do every year along with the local visit to your GP and the dentist, but the Pap Smear doesn’t take that long. Especially it you consider you’ve the rest of your life as the reward for doing it.

Celeste Yates

Celeste writes for Tell Her, a website dedicated to Cervical Cancer for women in the UK.

Monday, 18 May 2009

World Statistics For Prostate Cancer

Reliable prostate cancer statistics for the entire world are often hard to come by, but it is extremely important to try and gather statistics if a way of preventing it is ever to be discovered. However, it is possible to tell that prostate cancer rates vary greatly across the world and even amongst countries. There are some patterns to the spread of prostate cancer, and these are outlined below.

  1. Prostate cancer is least common in Eastern/Southern Asia. It is also least common amongst all Asian men, whether they are living in Asia or not.
  2. It is most common in the United States, where it causes death of men more than any other type of cancer apart from lung cancer. It is also common in Europe, for example in the UK it is the second most common cancer. It has been speculated that this is because of the higher rates of detection in these countries however.
  3. Prostate cancer is most likely to occur in men aged over fifty years old.
  4. In England in 2001, the relative five year survival rate for men with prostate cancer was 71 percent. This is a 40 percent increase on 1975. Prostate cancer survival rates have been increasing for over twenty years now in developed countries.

World statistics for prostate cancer can be found, but it is much more beneficial for an individual to look at the statistics in their country as the survival rates vary greatly from country to country and between continents. If you have any concerns about your health you should always contact your GP or doctor.

James Kernal

Are you worried you have prostate cancer? Do you have prostate cancer and want to learn more about it? To find out more about prostate cancer, please visit Prostate Cancer Info.


Saturday, 16 May 2009

Breast Cancer Statistics

There are some things we know about breast cancer. One is that it is the most prevalent cause of death for women at present. Another is that there are more breast cancer survivors now than there were several years ago. But exactly how many incidences of diagnosis are there every year? How many women die and how many survive? These and many others make up breast cancer statistics.

The National Cancer Institute is the primary agency to release breast cancer statistics in the United States. The Cancer Statistics Branch publishes the SEER Cancer Statistics Review annually. This report includes incidence, mortality, prevalence, survival and other risk statistics. Incidence, mortality rates and other risk factors are tabulated with respect to age, state, race, tumor size, stage and others. The report showed that in 2004, the number of women diagnosed was 186,772 while the number of men was only 1,815.

While there may be millions who are diagnosed with this illness, it is not the leading cause of death. More women have died because of heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, lung cancer, chronic lower respiratory disease and Alzheimer's disease. This shows that there are more breast cancer survivors now than there were years ago.

In order to arrive at these estimates, epidemiologists use various methods. To compare people of different age compositions, "age adjustment" method is used. This is important when cancer rates are compared, more so because breast cancer generally inflicts older women, and some states generally have an older population than others. To estimate new cancer cases, new projection method is used. Instead of using oldest SEER registries where only 10% of the population is covered, estimates are now based on North American Association of Central Cancer Registries which covers about 86% of the population. Aside from this, regional variations with respect to socio-demographic factors, medical settings, screening behaviors and other lifestyle factors are taken into consideration in making incidence predictions.

The American Cancer Society conducts research on breast cancer cases, provides estimates of new cases and analyzes data for long-term trending and study. These statistics are found in their publication, Breast Cancer Facts and Figures. It is estimated that in 2007, 178,480 invasive breast cancer and 62,030 non-invasive breast cancer cases. Also in the same year, about 40,460 women are estimated to die. Out of this number, only 2,830 are women younger than 45 years. Using the latest data available, survival rates for those diagnosed are 89% after 5 years, 81% after 10 years, and 73% after 15 years. There is a significant increase in survival rates compared to the previous years.

In the UK, 44,659 people were diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004. From this number, only 324 were men. Breast cancer is one of the most common types of cancer, third to lung and bowel cancer in causing death. It accounts for 1 out of 3 cancer cases among women. About 80% of the cases involve post-menopausal women. There is an increase in survival rates after 5 years, and breast cancer mortality rates have decreased. This is credited to an increase in awareness, early detection and advances in treatment.

The World Health Organization also conducts their own studies and makes their estimates with the studies as basis. Their studies show that a woman has a 13.4% chance of developing breast cancer throughout her lifetime. This statistic is slightly higher than the US figure, which is 12.28%. As for the death or mortality rate, WHO estimates a 33% mortality rate. This figure is relatively lower than the rates of previous years and the decline is attributed to early detection and advances in treatment. Early detection has also caused the increase in survival rate, 96%, especially if the tumor is at its first stage when detected. This shows the importance of early detection for breast cancer survival.

Breast cancer statistics and trends are basically the same throughout the world. Increased survival rates, fewer deaths and improved survival rates are common in all statistics. This means that more people are becoming aware of breast cancer, more women are treated while cancer is still at its earliest stages, and more survivors are living happy lives.

Nathalie Fiset

For more information on breast cancers and their solutions, please visit:
http://fightbreastcancers.com/breast-cancer-statistics.html
http://fightbreastcancers.com/
http://www.drnathaliefiset.com

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