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Articles: Cancer patients surviving longer

Posted by admin on Thursday, June 03, 2004 - 12:04 AM

Americans are living longer with cancer, says a report out today. About 64% of cancer patients now survive five years after being diagnosed, a rate that has been climbing since the 1970s, when half of patients lived that long, says the Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer, 1975-2001
Significantly, men, who traditionally had lower survival rates than women, have closed that gap. "We are making real progress," said Ahmedin Jemal, lead author of the report and the program director for cancer surveillance at the American Cancer Society. The society collaborated on the report with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Cancer Institute and the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries. Living longer with cancer Five-year survival rates for the 15 most common cancers: Men Women 1975-1979 43% 57% 1995-2000 64% 64% Source: American Cancer Society The report is the latest to show the United States continues to gain ground fighting cancer. After climbing steadily since the 1930s, death rates began falling in the 1990s, dropping 10% since 1991. The rate of new cases has leveled. Americans are surviving longer for several reasons, including increased screening, improved therapies and better rehabilitation, experts say. About half the increase in survival rates among men is the result of prostate cancer patients living much longer after diagnosis, Jemal said. Increasing survival rates are not always a sign of progress against cancer, the report noted. In some cases, screenings detect cancers earlier without prolonging life or they find slow-growing tumors that may never cause problems. Women's survival rates may not have grown as quickly, Jemal said, partly because more women have developed lung cancer over the last three decades. Survivors struggle with lingering physical, psychological and social problems. Toxic anti-cancer therapies, for example, may lead to heart disease, infertility or even new tumors.

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