Cancer Deaths Decline

Dear Friends of the American Cancer Society:

We are writing to bring you great news. Recently, the American Cancer Society announced that cancer deaths declined in the United States for the second year in a row – a milestone event that indicates dramatic progress is being made against the disease. There were 3,014 fewer cancer deaths in 2004 than in 2003, a significantly larger decrease than the 369 fewer deaths reported the previous year. Thirteen years of continuing drops in the overall cancer death rate have now overtaken trends in aging and growth of the US population, resulting in decreased numbers of deaths.

The decline is strong evidence that decades of groundbreaking research, effective public health policies and public education has been worthwhile. Our hard work toward preventing cancer, catching it early, and making treatment more effective is paying dramatic, lifesaving dividends.

But while these new statistics give us cause to celebrate, it also gives us reason to redouble our efforts. Cancer remains the leading cause of death in Americans under age 85. The adoption of tobacco control policies across the country has contributed to our remarkable progress against cancer, but these gains are threatened by cutbacks in funding for research and prevention programs. A few years after our nation doubled its investment in medical research, Congress cut cancer funding for the first time in more than a decade. While the American Cancer Society will continue its aggressive fight against the disease, our sister advocacy organization, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action NetworkSM(ACS CAN), will work to inspire our lawmakers to recommit themselves to it as well.

We wanted you, as a friend of the American Cancer Society, to be aware that your support has helped us make remarkable progress against cancer. To learn more about the American Cancer Society call us at 1-800-ACS-2345 or visit www.cancer.org.