Observations about cancer and implications for cancer control in Delaware

Cancer is a provocative disease, made more so in Delaware because of our high cancer mortality rates. Information made available to the public is often insufficient to form a balanced perspective about the causes of cancer and appropriate interventions. Four observations are offered to guide communication and to consider in the development of cancer-related public health programs. These are: (1) focusing on our cancer mortality rank obscures important information; (2) four sites are responsible for most of the cancer in Delaware; (3) cancer intervention are based on common sense; and (4) there are limitations to what can be done to control cancer.