Annual "Report to the Nation" on Cancer Has Encouraging News

Ever since I started to approach the age at which it is strongly encouraged that I get regular screening for colorectal cancer, I have paid much closer attention to what exactly I would be getting screened, and what I could potentially expect from the results. So, it goes without say that since I just turned 48, two years away from the "magic" age of 50 when screenings are encouraged I was very happy to see the results from the Annual "Report to the Nation" on cancer that showed gains, or drops if you will, in deaths attributed to colorectal cancer posting some of the largest drops, almost 5% in men, and 4.5% in women.

The report, posted in its entirety on www.cancer.gov under press releases is a collaborative effort between the American Cancer Society, the National Cancer Institute, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries. One of the most encouraging signs I found from the report is the fact that it seems to be a trend with momentum as it was reported that overall cancer death rates have dropped between 2002 and 2004 by an average of 2.1 percent. On the surface that may not seem like much to celebrate, but comparing those numbers against a time period from 1993 to 2001 that showed a modest 1.1 % drop for that nine-year period makes the gains that much more significant as an additional 1% drop was achieved in just the three-year period between 2002 to 2004.

As I said , I have been paying particular attention to anything related to colorectal cancer, and screening information on it, so I was encouraged to see that is the area that saw some of the biggest changes that helped to achieve the overall gains.