The death rate due to cancer has declined in the United States in recent years , largely due to better prevention and treatment . In fact , 650,000 lives were spared from cancer between 1990 to 2005 , according to new statistics from the American Cancer Society . Experts say prevention and improved treatment has lowered the U.S. cancer death rate . During the 15-year period , the cancer death rate among men dropped by 19.2 percent , mainly due to decreases in lung , prostate , and colon cancer deaths . In women , the cancer death rate fell by 11.4 percent , largely due to a drop in breast and colorectal cancer deaths . `` This is good news because cancer death rates have continued to decrease since the early 1990s because of prevention and improved treatment for many cancers , '' said lead author Dr. Ahmedin Jemal , the strategic director of cancer surveillance at the American Cancer Society in Atlanta , Georgia . `` We have to be optimistic based on the trends . We are on the right track . '' The findings are published in the July/August issue of CA : A Cancer Journal for Clinicians . Despite the optimism , however , there is still much work to be done to win the war on cancer , experts stress . There will be close to 1.5 million new cancer diagnoses in the U.S. in 2009 , and 562,340 people are expected to die of the disease . This means that more than 1,500 people will die of cancer each day in 2009 ; the most common lethal cancers in men and women are lung , prostate , breast , and colon cancers . Health.com : How to avoid colorectal cancer . A drop in hormone replacement therapy leads to a decline in breast cancer cases . The decrease in deaths from breast cancer accounted for 37 percent of the reduction in the death rate among women during the 15-year period . `` Any life spared from cancer or serious illness is a victory , but success comes in little steps -- one life at a time , '' said Dr. Marisa Weiss , the president and founder of advocacy group Breastcancer.org and the author of several books , including Taking Care of Your Girls : A Breast Health Guide for Girls , Teens , and In-Betweens . Weiss is also the director of breast radiation oncology and breast health outreach at Lankenau Hospital in Wynnewood , Pennsylvania . `` It 's great news that a large chunk of the decreased death rates in women can be attributed to breast cancer , '' she said . This is largely due to a decreased use of hormone replacement therapy ( HRT ) , which has been shown to increase a woman 's risk of developing breast cancer . HRT fell from grace after a large government-funded study known as the Women 's Health Initiative was stopped early because the risks of HRT , including an increased risk of breast cancer , greatly outnumbered the benefits of the therapy . Health.com : What breast cancer really feels like . Another reason for the decline in breast cancer deaths , however , is delayed diagnosis due to the fact that many women are not getting their yearly X-ray or mammogram . `` Fewer women are getting mammography and that 's why fewer women are getting diagnosed with breast cancer , so eventually that will come back and bite us in the rear end , '' Weiss said . Black women continue to die of breast cancer at a greater rate than their white counterparts , she pointed out . What 's more , the current obesity epidemic may fuel a rise in the rates . `` Fat makes extra hormones , which lead to extra cell activity and extra abnormal cell activity , '' she said . `` Fat is a storing facility for hormonally active pollutants , so if you are overweight , you 're more likely to hold on to some chemicals in the environment that enter your body from food and water . '' Health.com : How to keep your food cravings at bay while you lose weight . And that 's not all : `` Fat brings on puberty earlier and early puberty is a risk factor for breast cancer , '' Weiss said . `` These areas of disappointment are areas of opportunity , '' she added . But greater efforts are needed to encourage healthy eating and exercise to help combat obesity , especially in adolescents , she said . Health.com : Melt pounds with mix-and-match cardio routines . Another encouraging sign is a drop in colorectal cancer deaths due to better and more widespread screening . `` Colorectal cancer screening saves lives because it detects cancer at early stages when treatment is more effective , and it also removes precancerous lesions , '' said Jemal . The current recommendation for people at average risk of colon cancer is to get regular screening tests starting at age 50 . Not all good news . Death rates from breast and colon cancers are falling , but the death rates from pancreatic ( women ) , liver ( men and women ) , and esophageal cancer ( men ) are increasing -- largely because of the obesity epidemic . Among men , death rates for the fatal form of skin cancer melanoma are also on the rise . Although there has been a decrease in lung cancer deaths among men ( due to smoking-cessation efforts ) , the death rates for women with lung cancer are still on the rise . Lung cancer is expected to account for 26 percent of all cancer deaths in women in 2009 , according to the new statistics . Health.com : My smoker 's cough turned out to be emphysema . `` We have n't seen a decrease here yet , but cigarette smoking in women peaked about 20 years later than it did in men , '' Jemal said . He predicts a decrease in lung cancer deaths in women in the next 5 years . Enter to win a monthly Room Makeover Giveaway from MyHomeIdeas.com . Copyright Health Magazine 2009 .
American Cancer Society estimates 650,000 lives spared from cancer 1990 to 2005 . Cancer death rate for men dropped by 19.2 percent , in women , 11.4 percent . Comment: