Cancer rates are declining, says Winneshiek County Chapter of the American Cancer Society

Each year, the American Cancer Society estimates the numbers of new cancer cases and deaths expected in the United States in the current year.

The Winneshiek County Chapter of the American Cancer Society is highlighting how the newest figures show that progress is being made in the fight against cancer.

This year's report estimates there will be 585,720 cancer deaths in the United States in 2014--6,420 in Iowa.  But when compared with figures from the past 20 years, the cancer death rate has been continuously declining for two decades, from a peak of 215.1 deaths per 100,000 people in 1991 to a low of 171.8 deaths per 100,000 people in 2010. This 20 percent decline translates to saving the lives of 1,340,400 people during those 20 years.

Among men, prostate, lung, and colon cancer will account for about half of all newly diagnosed cancers, with prostate cancer alone accounting for about one in four cases. Among women, the three most common cancers in 2014 will be breast, lung, and colon, which together will account for half of all cases. Breast cancer alone is expected to account for 29 percent of all new cancers among women.