When it comes to fighting cancer, it seems the Empire State is a good place to be. The AP got ahold of a draft of the State Health Department's 2011-16 cancer report and the results are interesting: Nearly 3,000 fewer New Yorkers died of the disease last year compared to a decade ago but at the same time the number of cancer diagnoses in the state is on the rise.
According to the report last year 34,540 people died of cancer in New York, down seven percent, but the number of diagnoses rose seven percent to 103,340. On the good news side, "Data show that 65 percent of all individuals diagnosed with cancer in the years from 2004-2008 survived." Further, "Five- and 10-year survival rates for all children younger than age 15 diagnosed with cancer improved from 61 percent in the late '70s to 88.5 percent by 2002."
And New York's cancer stats are a good deal better than the nation's, where there has been a 14 percent rise in diagnoses and a seven percent rise in deaths at the same time. The New York Health Department attributes our relatively good position to early and better detection through screenings along with state-wide pushes to reduce smoking, indoor tanning and obesity.
So. More cancer, less dead people! Now, if you'll excuse us, we're going to go back to worrying about how everything will give you cancer.
