Summary: The American Cancer Society shares its cancer diagnosis predictions and facts. Here you will find some of the pertinent information from their website, info graphics and statistics shared in a convenient easy-read format.
Each year the American Cancer Society uses data and statistics from the previous years, and reporting done by the major cancer centers around the United States. For 2019, these are the predicted cancer numbers by state.
These estimated numbers do not include basal cell or squamous cell carcinomas. At the time of creation, numbers were not available in Puerto Rico.
Common Questions Addressed by the American Cancer Society
How many people alive today have, or have had, cancer?
It is impossible to say, at this moment, how many people have been affected by cancer. The statistical numbers for this lag approximately two to three years behind our current date. As of 2016, over 15.5 million people had some history with cancer.
How many new cases and deaths are predicted in 2019?
The World Health Organization predicts that over two million new cancer cases will be diagnosed, not including basal cell, squamous cell, or carcinoma in situ. Over seven-hundred thousand people are expected to die from cancer in the United States alone. Cancer remains the second leading cause of death in America, next to heart disease.
How much progress has been made on research and a cure?
The World Health Organization and others like it use the death rate statistics to best measure this progression over the years. The cancer rate rose during the twentieth century, peaking in 1991, mainly because of the tobacco epidemic. During this time there were approximately 215 cancer deaths per every one-hundred thousand people. At the last official number release in 2016, that rate had lessened to roughly 156 deaths out of one-hundred thousand people, which is about a twenty-seven percent decline. Many health officials attribute the decrease in rate because of the awareness of and reduction in tobacco use, along with earlier detection and treatment. There are also steady decreasing rates for lung, colorectal, breast and prostate cancers (ACS). Cancer rates, types and statistics to vary by state (as shown in the infographic above).
Who has the greatest risk of developing cancer?
In most cases, older individuals over age 55 are affected the most by cancer at a whopping eighty percent within the United States. There are also certain behaviors that increase the overall risk for developing cancer that include smoking, being overweight, and drinking alcohol. In the United States, approximately thirty-nine out of every hundred men and thirty-eight out of one hundred women will develop cancer in their lifetime. Smokers are twenty-five percent more likely to develop cancer than a non-smoker. With any statistic or probability, cancer has no rules and discriminates against no one. Everyone is susceptible to cancer.
What percentage of people survive cancer?
Since the early 1960s, the five-year survival rates for all cancers combined have increased greatly. Improvements in survival are often linked to advancements in treatment and earlier diagnosis. Survival rates vary by cancer type, stage, and age at diagnosis. The current five-year survival rates do not include the most recent advancements in treatment because those patients being tracked were treated with methods used in the last decade.
What are the predicted numbers for new cancer diagnosis by type?
Cancer incidence trends are based on data through 2016 from the National Cancer Institute SEER registry. Trends are described based on the average annual percent chance in the most recent five or ten years. Numbers can be seen in the infographic below.
Who is the fastest growing population being affected by cancer?
The population with the fastest growing rates of cancer are those who are over age eighty-five. This age group is expected to see an intense increase of cancer rates from six million in 2016 to nineteen million by the year 2060. This rate increase is fueled by the longevity of life continually being lengthened and increased. People eighty-five and over represent eight percent of the new cancer diagnosis this year. The most commonly diagnosed cancers for older individuals are breast, colorectal, lung, prostate, and bladder.
These are just some of the newest numbers and statistics in regard to cancer in the United States. To see more of this information, visit the American Cancer Society’s website. If you have questions on where to locate this information, contact our team at Reclaiming Intimacy.
Resources Used:
American Cancer Society
NIH
(We do not own these images. The original can be found on the ACS website.)