Is There A Cancer Gender Gap?

The increase in the use of nutraceuticals means more cancer survivors. Over the past decade, the decrease in cancer mortality among men is that twice that of women. This is in a large part because of the rate of smoking cessation. Nevertheless, while that's great for men, their death rate remains 46% higher than women. Death rates decreased from 11 of the 15 most common cancers in men and for 10 of the 15 most common cancers in women.

The decrease in death rates was attributed in part to the declining use of tobacco, earlier detection through screening, increased use of nutraceutical vitamin supplements and more effective treatments diseases. It still remains a fact that cancer remains the second leading cause of death in the United States after heart disease.

By contrast with the declining death rate, cancer diagnosis itself has not change much over the past few years. Men and decreased incidences of rates of co-rectal stomach, oral, and lung cancers, but higher rates for prostate cancer, melanoma, leukemia, and cancer of the liver, kidney, and esophagus. Women developed fewer colorectal, uterine, oral, stomach, and cervical cancers, but they had more lung cancer.

Interestingly and in general, Hispanics have lower incidents in rates for most cancers than did non-Hispanic Caucasians, although they were less likely to be diagnosed early for some cancers, and the rates of childhood cancer were higher.