The Opportunity
Cancer is the second most common cause of death in the U.S., exceeded only by heart disease.1 The National Cancer Institute estimates 1,685,210 new cases of cancer will be diagnosed in the United States, and 595,690 people will die from the disease in 2016.2 Furthermore, nearly half of all men and one-third of all women in the U.S. will develop cancer during their lifetime.3 In addition, diagnosis and treatment of cancer has great economic impact on patients, their families, and society. The National Cancer Institute estimated that in 2010 the costs for cancer care in the U.S. totaled nearly $157 billion and could reach $174 billion in 2020.4
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1
American Cancer Society. Economic impact of cancer website.
http://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancerbasics/economic-impact-of-cancer. Last accessed June 2016.
2
National Cancer Institute. Cancer statistics website. https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/understanding/statistics. Updated March 2017. Last accessed January 2017.
3
American Cancer Society. Cancer Facts & Figures 2016. Atlanta, GA: American Cancer Society; 2016. Available at http://www.cancer.org/research/cancerfactsstatistics/cancerfactsfigures2016/index. Last accessed June 2016.
4
National Cancer Institute. Cancer prevalence and cost of care projections website. https://costprojections.cancer.gov/. Last accessed September 2017.