A century ago, being told one had cancer was pretty much a death sentence. Many of the cancers
that we know today were not known then, but for those that were known, they had very limited
treatment options. There was no radiation or chemotherapy, and in many cases, patients were given
drugs to mask the pain until the cancer claimed their life.

In my young adult days, I worked with a man who was told he had lung cancer. He told me that his
great grandfather and grandfather both died of lung cancer. In both cases, they were given laudanum,
a tincture containing about 10% opium, for pain until they died.

His father had lung cancer and had his lung removed and lived for about 3 years before being
diagnosed with cancer in his other lung. Knowing he couldn’t lose another lung, he started drinking
heavy and ended up being killed in a horrific auto accident that was his fault.

When my co-worker was diagnosed, he said they caught it early and was only going to remove the
bottom portion of the lung, and then follow up with radiation. He survived for a number of years and
then I lost track of him.

There is no doubt that over the past century, there have been many tremendous advancements is
dealing with cancer. Doctors are more familiar with more forms of cancer. They are able to detect
cancer earlier, which usually increases the survivability rates. Surgeries are better; radiation is better
and can be pinpointed at the cancer; chemotherapies have improved, all of which lead to cancer no
longer being the death sentence it was a century ago.

This is supported by a recent report:

“From 1991 to 2016, the U.S. cancer death rate dropped steadily by about 1.5 percent per year,
resulting in an overall decline of 27 percent during the 25-year-period, according to the report from
the American Cancer Society (ACS). That translates to an estimated 2.6 million fewer cancer deaths
than would have been expected if death rates had remained at their peak level, the researchers
said…”

“In 2016, there were 156 cancer deaths for every 100,000 people, down from a rate of 215 cancer
deaths per 100,000 people in 1991.”

A decline of 27% is huge, especially if you are one of those 2.6 million cancer survivors.
However, in the midst of the good news for cancer patients, there is also a drawback revealed by the
same report:

But despite this progress, there are growing disparities in cancer deaths according to socioeconomic
status, with people living in poorer communities experiencing an increasingly larger burden
of preventable cancers, the report said.

Although the continued decline in overall cancer death rates is good news, the ‘bad news that this
report highlighted [is that] inequalities are widening, particularly among those of low socioeconomic
status,’ said Dr. Darrell Gray II, deputy director of the Center for Cancer Health Equity at The Ohio
State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, who was not involved in the study. ‘It underscores
the importance of health care providers, researchers and lay community members and advocates to
continue to push toward health equity,’ Gray told Live Science.

Today, the number of people surviving cancer is steadily climbing, giving everyone more hope for
future than ever before.