skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Cancer Deaths Rates Falling in U.S., but Melanoma a Major Concern

play audio
Play

Tuesday, January 15, 2013   

WILLMAR, Minn. - There is some good news in the battle against cancer, although the latest data show serious challenges remain on several fronts. Dermatologist Cindy Firkins Smith of Willmar says overall death rates continue to decline in the U.S. for all of the most common cancer sites, including lung, colon, prostate and breast.

"The bad news is that for a few cancers, the frequency of diagnosis is going up, and one of those that concerns us is the frequency of melanoma. In fact, the frequency has gone up fairly significantly, and it has been for the last 30 years, and we're pretty concerned about that."

According to the American Cancer Society, melanoma, a type of skin cancer, is the most rapidly-increasing cancer among the people of the state. It's estimated that there will be more than 1,100 new melanoma cases in Minnesota this year.

Dr. Smith says the rise comes despite the fact that melanoma is almost always preventable.

"We don't protect ourselves very well from the sun and with tanning booths. The use of tanning booths, particularly in our young people, is a significant risk factor for the development of melanoma as well as non-melanoma skin cancer."

In addition to being preventable, she says, melanoma is also treatable when caught quickly, so people should get checked annually, or right away if they have any changing or irregular moles.

"The good thing about melanoma is that if you diagnose it early it's very treatable and it's survivable. It's generally removed surgically. The scary thing about melanoma is if it's not diagnosed early, there aren't very many good treatments for it, once it metastasizes, and people don't survive very long."

The other cancers which had death-rate increases over the last decade were cancers of the uterus, liver and pancreas.

The Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer is at seer.cancer.gov.




get more stories like this via email

more stories
Many factors affect a customer's bill amount, including energy usage, weather, and the number of days in a billing period, according to Arizona Public Service. (Jason Yoder/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …


Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …


More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social media platform X temporarily shutdown searches of "Taylor Swift" following the release of explicit deepfake images in early 2024. (Mdv Edwards/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

Social Issues

play sound

A 2023 study from the University of Nebraska Medical Center concluded the number of Nebraskans with a mental health or substance abuse disorder has pr…

Environment

play sound

A farm group is helping Iowa agriculture producers find ways to reduce the amount of nitrogen they use on their crops. Excess nitrates can wind up …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021