F A C T S   A N D   F I G U R E S

United States of America

The American Cancer Society (ACS) tracks cancer occurrence, including the number of deaths, cases, and how long people survive after diagnosis. ACS also tracks data regarding behaviors that influence the risk of developing cancer and the use of screening tests.

Caution: It is very important to note that, beginning with the 2003 Cancer Facts & Figures, the incidence and mortality data has been age-adjusted to the 2000 population standard of the United States.

This change in method will affect the comparability of the new report's data with that of previous years. The new approach will result in some dramatic changes in the rates of cancer incidence and mortality, rates at different ages, magnitude of improvement in cancer, and racial and ethnic differences.

Cancer Facts & Figures 2006
Presents data on cancer incidence, mortality, survival, cancer risk factors, and annual estimates of expected new cases and deaths. Special section on Environmental Pollutants and Cancer. Also available: the most-requested graphs and figures .

The Netherlands

Second cause of death
Cancer is the second cause of death in the Netherlands . Cardiovascular diseases are the first cause of death. Some people think that more people will die of cancer than of cardiovascular diseases in 2010. So cancer is a disease which occurs more and more. This is because people get older these days in comparison to 50 years ago. Nowadays 2 out of 4 people who suffer from cancer, are older than 65 years old. And people who get older, have a bigger risk of getting cancer.

The good news is that more and more people cure from cancer. The chance to survive from cancer is for adults about 50%.

Fortunately fewer children get cancer in comparison with adults. About 400 children aged between 0 and 14 years get cancer in the Netherlands . Fewer than 100 children die in a year from cancer. Children suffer from other types of cancer then adults do. Children suffer most of the time from leukaemia (blood-cancer), brain-tumours, and lymph node cancer.

The chance to cure from cancer is bigger for children than adults. About 70% of all children cure from cancer.

These are the numbers of the ten most common cancers in the Netherlands in 2003.

Differences around the world

There are many cultural and eating differences around the world.
That is why some sorts of cancers are more common in one part of the world than in another part.

	Colon cancer Nose and throath cancer Liver cancer Stomach cancer Skin cancer Mouth cancer Eushopagus cancer Long cancer Larynx cancer

As you can see stomach cancer is very common in South America, Japan and Middle Europe. People in South America eat a lot of beans. In these beans there is a certain substance that can cause cancer. In Japan and Middle Europe probably the way people preserve food plays a role. In the Netherlands we all use food in the freezer or cans or glass. In Japan and Middle Europe people salt or smoke their food to preserve it longer. This increases the risk of cancer.

In America Colon cancer is very common. Among people who eat fat food and little whole meat bread, vegetables and fruit, this type of cancer is more common than among other people. In America many people eat a lot of fat food compared to other parts of the world.

In Australia Skin cancer is very common. You can see it her more than in other parts of the world. In Australia the sun shines bright and often. And a lot of people who emigrated from Northern Europe live there. They have a natural pale skin. And the paler the skin, the bigger the chance to get skin cancer.