Die, cancer! Two-thirds of New Yorkers survive disease | Health and ...

Has death taken a holiday?

New Yorkers are living longer with cancer than ever before as the odds of beating the killer disease skyrocket, a Daily News review of newly released health data shows.

The number of fatalities in New York City has plummeted ? even as total cancer cases rise due to early screening and advanced detection, state Health Department records reveal.

Two out of three cancer patients survive the ravages of the disease today, according to statistics quietly posted online by the New York State Cancer Registry in the last few days. That?s a dramatic turnaround from three decades ago, when the state first began tracking cancer mortality ? and the odds of survival for patients in the five boroughs was less than 50-50.

?This is exciting!? said Dr. Clifford Hudis, incoming president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology and a breast cancer specialist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

?We?re seeing a significant change in mortality, and we?re making so much more progress against all these diseases.?

Noting that specific targeted drugs can now control or zap dozens of cancers, Hudis added, ?It?s a very different world. It?s about big gains in many small areas adding up to something big.?

The numbers tell a searing life-and-death story:
l In 1976, there were 13,597 cancer cases among men that resulted in 8,458 deaths, a lethal 62% rate. Among women, there were 14,883 cases that led to 7,978 deaths, a painful 54%.
l By 2009, the latest year available, 18,579 men and 19,267 women were diagnosed with cancers that were fatal in 6,019 and 6,257 cases respectively, a mortality rate of just 32%.
l There were only 2,002 recorded cases of prostate cancer in 1976 because of primitive screening, education and detection. The disease killed 736 men, or a chilling 37%.
l By 2009, with PSA prostate exams common, there were 5,646 diagnosed cases, resulting in 717 deaths, a mortality rate of 12.7%.
l There were 4,105 cases of breast cancer in 1976 that killed 1,647 women, a 40% rate. By 2009, with mammograms a routine for most women, there were 5,501 cases and 1,046 deaths, a rate of 19%.

dfeiden@nydailynews.com

Article source: http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/health-department-statistics-show-yorkers-surviving-ravages-cancer-article-1.1101650?localLinksEnabled=false

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