Cancer Rates Dropping Among Blacks in U.S.

Largely due to quitting smoking

Good news! Cancer rates among blacks in the United States are on the decline, especially among black men, as more of them have quit smoking then white men, causing a drop in lung cancer. Since 1990, the cancer death rates have declined by 2.4 percent a year for black men and about 1.5 percent a year for black women, and since then nearly 200,000 blacks have been saved from dying of the disease due to improved cancer treatments. However, the bad news is that, despite the drop in rates, blacks are still more likely to die from the disease once diagnosed than whites. And explanations vary from genetics to choices about health to the treatment of blacks in doctor’s office and differences in wealth and education. (Health)

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