How many people have cancer in the United States?
It’s a shockingly high number. During 2008, it is estimated that over 1,437,000 new cases of cancer were diagnosed in the country. This number excludes noninvasive cancers except those affecting the urinary bladder. It also excludes all basal and squamous cell skin cancers. These skin cancers account for an additional 1 million cases of the disease. On average about 1500 people die of cancer every day in the United States. That’s about 565,650 deaths during 2008. To put it another way, one out of every four deaths in the US are from cancer. Only heart disease has a higher death rate. Out of the 1,437,000 new cases of cancer diagnosed during 2008, about 745,000 affected men and 692,000 affected women. Of the 565,650 deaths from cancer in the same period, about 294,000 were men and the rest were women. Cancers affecting the oral cavity and pharynx accounted for about 35,000 new cases in 2008. Digestive system cancers such as those affecting the colon, rectum, pancreas, stomach, esophagus
