Community Trends - Logan Merkley

          

Logan Merkley

  For the community trends assignment, I was interested in finding out more about the cancer trends and patterns in the United States.  I went ahead and contacted Sandra, a Cancer Information Specialist from the American Cancer Society, to find more about specific 5 cancer trends in the United States among all races and genders.  Since the United States has such a large population, the cancer trends I found were quite accurate and detailed.

1)   Prostate Cancer

  I was informed that prostate cancer was the most diagnosed cancer among men.  It is rare to find this type of cancer in men younger than 45 but is stated that 1 in 6 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime.  This type of cancer is found in all men of different races and backgrounds all over the Unite States.  Even though this cancer is very prominent in our society, it is usually not terminal and thousands of older men live with this type of cancer today.

2)   Breast Cancer

Just like prostate cancer is the most common among men, breast cancer is the most prominent among women of all races in the United States.  Many women are diagnosed with this type of cancer every year and 39,000 women die every year from breast cancer.  It can be treated and survived as long as it is detected early in its growing process.  The chances of living through the treatment of breast cancer increase significantly if it detected early.  In the United States today, there are more than 3 million breast cancer survivors.

 3)  Lung Cancer

                        Sandra, the Cancer Information Specialist, then mentioned lung cancer diagnoses in the United States.   Lung cancer kills more people that colon, breast, and prostate cancers combined but risk can be decreased by being a non-smoker.  It is more prominent in people who smoke tobacco or are around cigarette smoke a lot.  Black men and women have a 40 percent higher chance of being diagnosed with lung cancer compared to white men and women.  Survival is not very common since the cancer attacks your source of obtaining oxygen.

4)    Colorectal

Colon and Rectum cancers lead the cancer charts in the United States with 140,000 new cases in 2012.  It is usually found among men and women past the age of 60. Sandra mentioned that this type of cancer is more prominent in men than women and is the third leading cause of death from cancer in the United States.  Adenocarcinomas are the most common type of colorectal cancer found among men and women.  There is not much that can be done to avoid this type of cancer other than eating healthy and maintaining a healthy body.

5)   Skin Cancer

It was also explained to me the effects and pattern of skin cancer among United States citizens.  Melanoma is the most dangerous type of skin cancer and contributes to 9,000 of the 12,000 skin cancer deaths each year.  Skin cancer comes from unprotected exposure to ultra-violet light which cause severe sunburns. Also, unusual moles can be a source of skin cancer in Americans. Skin cancer can be and should be avoided during your lifetime.