As an example, the rate of new breast cancer cases has been decreasing by about 3.5% per year since 2002. Lung cancer is also continuing to decrease for men, and is now also decreasing for women.. Reduced mortality can result from early detection (like mammography), and a large part of the decrease in new cancer incidence is due to decreases in smoking, and other carcinogenic exposures.
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/abstract/116330621/ABSTRACT
Some rarer cancers like pancreatic and melanoma are increasing in incidence, and the reasons for this are being investigated. I think that it is important to stress that not only are more people surviving with cancer, but fewer people are coming down with the disease. We still have a long way to go, but any progress at all is always encouraging.
For more information on positive trends in diseases such as cancer, AIDS, etc. see www.wherewestand.net.
