Cancer

Cancers associated with overweight & obesity make up 40% of all cancers. Learn more in this issue of Vital Signs.

Tobacco use is the top preventable cause of cancer death, putting people at risk for at least 12 kinds of cancer.

Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States. Communities and policy makers play a major role in preventing skin cancer.

More than 12,000 women get cervical cancer every year. Up to 93% of cervical cancers are preventable. Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination helps prevent infection with the HPV types that cause most cervical cancers.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second leading cancer killer of men and women in the US, following lung cancer. The US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends three CRC screening tests that are effective at saving lives: colonoscopy, stool tests (guaiac fecal occult blood test-FOBT or fecal immunochemical test-FIT), and sigmoidoscopy (now seldom done).

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among women in the United States (2005-2009). Breast cancer deaths are going down the fastest among white women compared to women of other races and ethnicities. Black women have the highest death rates of all racial and ethnic groups and are 40% more likely to die of breast cancer than white women.

Colorectal cancer is the #2 cancer killer in the US among cancers that affect both men and women. But it doesn't have to be. Screening can find precancerous polyps (abnormal growths) so they can be removed before they turn into cancer. Screening can also find colorectal cancer early when it is easiest to treat.

Most adults are getting recommended breast and colorectal cancer screenings. Yet a new CDC report says more than 22 million adults have not had screening tests for colorectal cancer, and more than 7 million women have not had a recent mammogram to screen for breast cancer as recommended.