CANCER PREDICTED TO BE LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH BY 2010
WebPosted Wed Nov 15 12:56:23 2000

TORONTO--The Canadian Cancer Society says that if current trends 
continue, cancer will overtake cardiovascular disease as the most common 
cause of death in Canada by the year 2010. 

 Cancer experts also forecast that the total number of new cancer cases 
will rise by 70 per cent by the year 2015 because of Canada's growing 
and aging population. 

 Canadian Cancer Society President Gary Semenchuck says that though 
progress has been made in recent years, the fight against cancer must 
become stronger in order to lower these expected increases. 

 Semenchuck says cancer costs individuals and families as well as the 
country. He said the most recent figures show Canada spends some $13.1 
billion annually on direct and indirect costs of treating cancer. 

 Dr. Robert Phillips, Executive Director of the National Cancer Institute 
of Canada, says over the past 20 years, a lot of information has been 
collected about the molecular and genetic basis for cancer. "And the 
next decade will see this translated into new and improved therapies," 
Phillips said in a release. 

 "We anticipate, and hope, that the first few decades of the new 
millennium will one day be looked upon by historians as the beginning of 
the end of cancer." 

 In spite of these hopes, many Canadians still dread the disease. 
According to Semenchuck, polls conducted by the Society say Canadians 
see cancer as the greatest threat to their health. 

 
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