cancer decline
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- November
- 26
The good news at this time of year usually involves the generous spirit of those who reach out to help the less fortunate. Certainly, this year is no exception in that regard, as Brian Howard’s story today about the increase in food bank donations shows. When those who are able to help know there is a need, they step up.Â
But today’s story about the decline in cancer rates is good news of a different sort. Cancer death rates have been dropping for some time, due to improved medical care and earlier screening. Now cancer diagnoses are down, 0.8 percent a year for every year from 2001 to 2005, according to a report from the National Cancer Institute. This means fewer people are even getting cancer, a trend attributed in part to healthier lifestyle and better pre-cancer screenings that can prevent certain lesions from developing into cancer.
Better public health education programs can take some of the credit for some of these changes. So, rather than the kindness of strangers at Thanksgiving, it is ongoing, smart public policy that brought us this good holiday news.
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, November 26th, 2008 at 3:11 pm by Debra West.
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