Fewer cancer deaths helping close Black-White life expectancy gap

What could you do in three and a half years? Earn a college degree? Watch a grandchild grow from birth to saying your name? According to a new study, you might want to start planning now.

The study, published in JAMA, found that African Americans are living an average of three and half years longer today than just 15 years ago. Fewer deaths from cancer accounted for much of the improvement. Although cancer is still the second leading cause of death for African Americans, more Blacks are now being screened for early detection of cancer. When cancer is found early, the chances of survival are much higher.

The study also showed that the life expectancy gap between African Americans and Whites is closing. In 1993, life expectancy for Whites was seven years longer than for African Americans; today the difference is only five years. Life expectancy--the average number of years an individual can expect to live--is now almost 73 years for African Americans, up from 69 years in 1993.

"Recent life expectancy trends indicate positive movement toward one of the major U.S. public health goals of eliminating Black-White mortality inequalities," said Dr. Sam Harper from McGill University, who led the study.

Despite the decline in overall cancer deaths among African Americans, rates of deaths from colon, prostate and breast cancers are still higher among African Americans than other groups. In Milwaukee, 291 African Americans died from colon, breast, or prostate cancer combined during 1990-1994.

The good news is, about 85 percent of African Americans survive colon cancer for at least five years when it is found in its earliest stage through screening. Nearly all African American men survive prostate cancer when it’s found early. Currently, 59 percent of African Americans in Wisconsin receive routine screening for colon cancer, and 58.1 percent of African American men in the United States are screened regularly for prostate cancer.

For more information, about cancer prevention, screening, and treatment, go to the National Cancer Institute (NCI) website at http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics or the American Cancer Society at http://www.can-cer.org/docroot/lrn/lrn_0.asp.