Alberta cancer rates continue to fall
Posted Feb 3, 2017 1:05 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A report shows mortality rates in Alberta from cancer have decreased by an average of two per cent a year between 2004 and 2014.
The data released by Alberta Health Services shows cancer rates have also declined by about half a per cent annually over the same period.
Dr. Huiming Yang with AHS said many factors are contributing to the decrease.
“Improvement in effective strategy and prevention, particularly in the tobacco reduction area, we also see the improvement in cancer screening,” he said.
The report says there were nearly 18,000 cancer cases diagnosed in Alberta in 2014 and about 5,800 people died from the disease.
Breast, prostate, lung and colorectal cancer were the most commonly diagnosed forms of the disease.
The data shows Albertans have a significantly improved chance of survival when cancer is diagnosed in earlier stages.
