Publicly released November 25, the “Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer, 1975-2005” reported something quite remarkable: for the first time in the ten-year history of these reports, cancer incidence and death rates for both men and women are declining. Though cancer death rates have been decreasing since the early 1990s, the new report highlights that cancer incidence rates are dropping as well.

American Cancer Society Relay For Life volunteers have been a critical part of the fight against cancer for the past 25 years and can take pride in the news that every dollar raised is helping to fund major progress in our mission to eliminate cancer as a major health problem.

“Relay For Life volunteers, donors and supporters have been a part of an international movement to end cancer for nearly 25 years. This report demonstrates that communities all across the globe are having a profound impact on the disease,” said Reuel Johnson, national vice president for the American Cancer Society Relay For Life.

The report is a collaborative publication released each year since 1998 by the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries (NAACCR), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the American Cancer Society (ACS), and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to provide updates on cancer death and incidence rates and trends in the nation.

"The take-home message is that many of the things we've been telling people to do to be healthy have finally reached the point where we can say that they are working," said Otis W. Brawley, MD, the Society’s chief medical officer. "These things are really starting to pay off."

"If you look at the data you can see there's something positive for black people and white people and Hispanic people. There's something positive for men. There's something positive for women. There's something positive for rich people and there's something positive for poor people," he continued. "It's the first time in my career I can see positiveness for everything in the population no matter how you slice it."

Though the drop in both incidence and death rates is very positive news, experts still believe that we still have a long way to go and could do better. Others wonder if the trends will continue given the economic hardship that may negatively affect cancer research abilities and the necessary insurance coverage for those who need to seek diagnosis or treatment.

Help this progress continue by making a “Fight Back Pledge” at a local event or by visiting RelayForLife.org’s Fight Back page. For more information on this year’s report, read Dr. Len Lichtenfeld’s blog on cancer.org.