An Overview of the Cancer Burden for Primary Care Physicians

Details

• Personal Author:
  Blackard B ; DeSantis C ; Jemal A ; Thun M ; Ward E
• Description:
  It is encouraging that the incidence and death rates from all cancers combined are currently decreasing in men and women and in nearly all racial and ethnic groups in the United States. The substantial decrease in cancer death rates (by more than 10% from 1992 to 2005) represents real progress in cancer control. These reductions in mortality are attributable to a combination of improvements in primary prevention, early detection, and treatment. The recent decrease in the overall cancer incidence rate is more difficult to interpret, and may in part be an artifact of the leveling off of mammography screening after 1999. In any event, the progress currently being made should be considered a starting point rather than a destination. Further progress can be achieved by applying existing knowledge and evidence-based interventions more systematically to all segments of the population. Primary care physicians are well positioned to communicate with patients about their real risks of cancer and actions that can be taken to reduce these risks. Smoking, excess weight, sedentary lifestyles, and failure to get screened all contribute to the excess burden of cancer. Clinicians who ask patients about their tobacco use and counsel users to quit can motivate the first steps towards eventual successful cessation. Although integrating effective prevention measures into standard clinical care will require changes in health care policy and in clinical practice, the combination of these approaches is essential to prevent the massive anticipated increase in the number of cancer cases, due to growth and aging of the population. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Delivery Of Health Care Epidemiology Mortality Neoplasms Occupational Health Preventive Medicine Safety
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Cancer Burden Cancer Prevention Cancer Rates Cancer Statistics Cancer Survival Cancer Trends Medical Care Mortality Rates Preventive Medicine
• ISSN:
  0095-4543
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Georgia ; OSHA Region 4
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  439-454
• Volume:
  36
• Issue:
  3
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20061830
• Citation:
  Prim Care 2009 Sep; 36(3):439-454
• Contact Point Address:
  Michael Thun MD, MS, Department of Epidemiology, American Cancer Society, 250 Williams Street, N.W., Atlanta, GA 30303-1002
• Email:
  mthun@cancer.org
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2009
• Performing Organization:
  Emory University, Atlanta
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Primary Care
• End Date:
  20180630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:52e70546d91b268146f247f731db1e727129c885461eae7794f05cc5819a12d33288f63fce01494e88a0cdeff035e2d44c00c09cfe29e848bb25baa10a2bdd9e
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/225202/cdc_225202_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 505.15 KB ]