Report: Cancer diagnoses up fivefold in Israel since 1960s
Despite higher cancer rate, recovery rate has risen ninefold, says Israel Cancer Association in report marking World Cancer Day • Most common cancers among Israelis are breast cancer for women, prostate for Jewish men, lung for Arab men.
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The number of cancer patients in Israel has risen fivefold over the last 50 years, but the number of cancer patients who recover from the illness has risen even more substantially, according to a report released Wednesday by the Israel Cancer Association to mark World Cancer Day Thursday.
The report suggested that cancer recovery rates in Israel have risen ninefold since the 1960s.
"The rise in recovery rates over the last 50 years is thanks to the great care provided in Israel coupled with diagnosis and prevention. All these things yield good results, and we mustn't fall backward," Israel Cancer Association CEO Miri Ziv said.
"The results are encouraging, but they require extensive preparations. The real challenge today is treating the patients in recovery."
According to the Health Ministry, in 2013 some 25,500 Israelis were diagnosed with cancer.
Among Israeli men, the most common forms of cancer are prostate cancer (for Jewish men) and lung cancer (for Arab men). Additional forms of cancer prevalent among men are colon cancer, pancreatic cancer and leukemia.
Among Israeli women, the most common, and deadly, cancer is breast cancer. Other cancers prevalent among women are colon, lung, pancreatic and ovarian cancers. In 2013, 361 women were diagnosed with ovarian cancer and 276 women died of the disease.
"[Ovarian cancer] is extremely deadly," said Israel Center for Disease Control Deputy Director Professor Lital Keinan-Boker. "The situation in Israel is similar to that in the world, and there has been a decline in the incidence of ovarian cancer partially thanks to hormone replacement therapy and possibly the rise in the use of birth control pills."
The report revealed further that cancer is the second leading cause of death among Israelis, accounting for 25% of all deaths in 2013. Over the last 20 years, the death rate among cancer victims has declined, but more so among Jewish Israelis than Arab Israelis.
A global comparative study by the World Health Organization of the rates of contracting and dying of cancer in the 20 countries where cancer is most common ranked Israeli women in 15th place and Israeli men in 19th.
Among OECD countries, Israel places 18th of the 34 countries in terms of incidence of cancer. But when it comes to cancer fatalities, Israel ranks 28th, well below the OECD average.
Keinan-Boker noted, "In recent years, the incidence of cancer in Israel is on the decline among men and stable among women."
