While some people are continuing the research on better forms of cancer treatment, others have taken it upon themselves to keep the public in the know regarding the cancer mortality rates for the United States. Prepared by the American Cancer Society, these rates come in the form of statistics.

According to the society, some of the facts and figures for 2008 cancer statistics report are as follows:

• Cancer death rates have decreased by 18.4% among men and 10.5% among women since the early 1990s.
• Paradoxically, 2005 data shows an increase in cancer mortality (559,312 cancer deaths in 2005 compared to 553,888 in 2004).
• Prostate, lung, and colorectal cancers account for about 50% of all cancer diagnoses among men.
• Likewise, breast, lung, and colorectal cancer make up 50% of the cases in women.
• Epidemiologists of the American Cancer Society estimate that there will be 1,437,180 new cancer cases (745,180 in men and 692,000 in women) and 565,650 cancer deaths (294,120 among men and 271,530 among women) in 2008.

The increase in the number of cancer deaths in 2005 after two years of historic declines should not obscure the fact that cancer death rates continue to drop, reflecting the enormous progress that has been made against cancer during the past 15 years. While in 2005 the rate of decline was not enough to overtake other population factors, the fact remains that cancer mortality rates continue to drop and they're doing so at a rate fast enough that over half a million deaths from cancer were averted between 1990/1991 and 2004.