2019 Paint the Paper Pink

Page 42 2019 Paint the Paper Pink Lincoln Daily News October 2019 American Cancer Society Report: Breast Cancer Death Rates Down 40% Since 1989 R eleased October 2, 2019 - A new American Cancer Society report finds that death rates from breast cancer in the United States dropped 40% between 1989 and 2017. This translates to 375,900 deaths avoided during those 28 years. While the death rate has dropped every year, the pace slowed from a drop of 1.9% per year during 1998 through 2011 to 1.3% per year during 2011 through 2017. The trend has been largely driven by rates among white women. African-American women still have higher breast cancer death rates than white women nationally. “We can’t say for sure what the reasons are for the slowing of the decline in breast cancer mortality. It could be due in part to the slight increase in incidence since 2004, as well as a sign that optimal breast cancer treatment has become more widespread, particularly among white women,” said Carol DeSantis, MPH, lead author of the report. “However, more can and should be done to ensure that all women have access to quality care to help eliminate disparities and further reduce breast cancer mortality.” The findings are published in Breast Cancer Facts & Figures 2019-2020 and in Breast Cancer Statistics, 2019 in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians. They provide detailed analyses of breast cancer trends and current information on known risk factors; factors that influence survival; the latest data on prevention, early detection, treatment; and ongoing research. Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in the United States, after skin cancer. Men can get breast cancer, too, but this is much less common. By the end of 2019, an estimated 268,600 women Continued n