It didn't register right away. But not long after I finished doing some research yesterday on breast cancer screening tools did I realize the statistics on breast cancer incidence have changed for 2007. Not only did they change -- they're moving in exactly the right direction.

Think about this:

The American Cancer Society reports that 178,480 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in American women in 2007. This number was 212,920 in 2006. Deaths by breast cancer -- there were 40,970 in 2006 -- will number 40,910 this year.

Just as it had become second nature for me to rattle off 200,000 as the general number of women diagnosed with breast cancer each year, I must learn a new number. I love it.

This comment just arrived in response to yesterday's post Headed for melanoma, and it's just too raw and powerful to leave buried in the comment section of the site.

So here it is, word for word -- a chilling and empowering message from a 37-year-old mom of two living with a disease that is downright deadly.

I have melanoma. I was diagnosed last August and have had 6 surgeries in 6 months.

I have lost 4 members in my melanoma support group. I go to Jaime's funeral tomorrow afternoon. She was 29 years old. Heather was 37 when she died on March 2, 2007. The midwife noticed a suspicious mole on her leg during the birth of her 4th child. She died 23 months later. Jan was a mother of 5 ages 9 to 19, she passed away on February 8, 2007. Ceri was only 20 years old when melanoma claimed her life on January 14, 2007.

I always thought skin cancer had to be HUGE, ugly, and hard to ignore. I didn't know it could be small, have no symptoms, and KILL you.

Melanoma incidence is increasing faster than any other cancer. According to statistics found on the American Cancer Society's website (www.cancer.org), the prognosis for someone diagnosed with melanoma is worse, stage for stage, than someone with breast cancer.

Getting more than 3 blistering sunburns during childhood doubles your risk. Sunbed use increases ones risk. Having fair skin and light eyes also puts you at a higher than average risk, but having dark skin does not make you immune. Bob Marley died from Melanoma in 1981.

Everyone at higher risk should get screened by a dermatologist every year. And all of us should be checking our own skin each month.

Melanoma is a virulent and aggressive cancer. It begins in the melanocytes, or the pigment in the skin. It presents itself as a change in an existing mole or skin pigment, or in the formation of a new one. It is easily treated in its most early stages. Once it spreads, though, it is often fatal.

Unfortunately, there is no cure for melanoma. Melanoma is one of the cancers that won't respond to conventional chemotherapy. There have been no significant advances in the medical treatment or survival rate in the last 30 years.

More awareness is needed. Most think "it's only skin cancer" and consider it nothing serious. But I can tell you with absolute certainty, they are DEAD wrong.

The American Cancer Society has happily announced that cancer deaths have declined for the second straight year. This is big news -- mostly because our population is growing and aging and it's entirely possible this could have led to an increase in cancer deaths. Not only is this not true, but the drop in deaths for this second year is eight times greater than the drop during the first year. Amazing.

It's hard to imagine in light of this great news that there are still less hopeful statistics out there on the cancer front. But there are so many dimensions to this disease -- prevention, detection, diagnosis, treatment, survival -- that the numbers can vary tremendously depending on perspective.

From the perspective of diagnosis, one in two men and one in three women in America today will develop cancer during their lifetimes. These staggering statistics, based on data collected during 2001 through 2003, are detailed in a pivotal paper appearing in The Oncologist -- a monthly peer-reviewed journal for doctors devoted to cancer patient care.

Dr. Matthew Hayat and colleagues, who worked on this paper for the National Cancer Institute, reveal other worrisome numbers and facts.

It seems the number of new cancer patients is expected to more than double from the current 1.36 million in 2000 to almost 3 million in 2050. Five-year survival for all cancer stages combined ranges from as low as 16 percent for lung cancer patients to 100 percent for prostate cancer patients. And black Americans are reported to have the highest cancer incidence and mortality rates for men and women for all cancers combined.

So while less people are dying from cancer, diagnosis of the disease seems to be on the rise. Not exactly a perfect scenario -- but if science and research can keep up, perhaps those diagnosed with cancer will need to prepare not for death, but for the management of a chronic condition.

Carbohydrate consumption of Americans has increased over the years and so has the incidence of esophageal cancer. Esophageal adenocarcinoma rose from 2,500 cases per year back in 1973 to nearly 15,000 cases per year in 2001.

The study reported by Vijay S. Khiani M.D., of Case Western Reserve in Cleveland, was presented at the American College of Gastroenterology meeting. The investigators found an association between the rising incidence of esophageal cancer in the United States and the increase in U.S. per-capita carbohydrate consumption over the past three decades.

Although the data could not prove a causal link, Dr Khiani noted that a carbohydrate-heavy diet can lead to obesity, which in turn can lead to gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). This disease has been linked to a greater likelihood for developing Barrett's esophagus, a precursor to lower-esophageal cancer.

Dr. Khiani stressed that the study does not support total carbohydrate avoidance, a strategy promoted by some fad diets. The investigators concluded, "This ecological study provides evidence for the hypothesis that excess carbohydrate intake in the U.S. population may partially account for the increased trend of incidence rates of adenocarcinoma of the esophagus. It is possible that obesity resulting from excess carbohydrate intake many be an intermediate link".

High grade Prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN) is the most significant risk factor for prostate cancer. PIN is strongly predictive of adenocarcinoma and if its identified in a biopsy specimen then it warrants repeat biopsies to check for cancer. This preinvasive cancer does not seem to have an impact on the levels of PSA scores.

All doctors can do now is the watch and wait method with those diagnosed with PIN. A preliminary study has shown that Toremifene can decrease the incidence of prostate cancer in men diagnosed with this precancerous condition.

A study was done with 514 men who had been diagnosed with PIN and had no evidence of prostate cancer. They were randomized to daily treatment with Toremifene or placebo for twelve months. The researchers concluded that 6.8% of every 100 men had their prostate cancer prevented with Toremifene.

Having a precancerous condition is very stressful. Its like the sword is just hanging over your head waiting to drop. This medication and its use with PIN to prevent prostate cancer is in its early stages but it is hopeful because at the current time there is no treatment for PIN available.