Family Life

12.08.09 | FL News Team

A report released Monday night indicates new cancer cases as well as deaths continue an annual drop. The "Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer" shows the rate of new cancer diagnoses declined by just under one-percent a year from 1999 to 2006. The death rate fell be one-point-six percent a year during that time frame. The numbers show the U.S. has made some progress in discovering cancer early and treating it more effectively. "USA Today" cites Edward Benz, director of Boston's Dana-Farber Cancer Institute as saying, "Things are slowly getting better, but they are not anywhere near where we want them to be."

 The rate of detection for new breast cancer cases has dipped at a rate of two-percent a year. The report comes after an uproar over new breast-screening recommendations from a government panel that said women could safely undergo fewer mammograms. An encouraging picture has also emerged in the fight against colorectal cancer. The report forecasts that due to expanded screening and use of approved drugs, mortality rates from the disease could drop by as much as 50-percent by 2020.