A new study from the American Cancer Society says less people are dying from cancer today and cancer deaths have been on a consistent decline for the past 25 years.

Cancer rates spiked in the 20th century-- an increase credited to high tobacco use-- and have lessened by 27% since the early 1990’s. While a statistical gap between white and black cancer patients has lessened, according to the report’s analysis income is growing divide between cancer survivors and victims.

Cancer remains the second leading cause of death in the United States and the study suggests that about a third of new cancer diagnosis are connected to behavior, and are therefore preventable. The study also highlights a drop in certain types of cancer such as lung, breast and prostate cancers-- likely due to earlier detection and advances in cancer treatments. AirTalk gets the latest on medicine’s fight against “the big C”. 

Guests:

Dan Theodorescu M.D., director of the Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute at Cedar Sinai; urology specialist.

Deanna Attai M.D., breast surgeon and clinical professor in the department of surgery at UCLA; tweets @DrAttai