In a report today, federal health officials announced the decline in deaths by cancer is accelerating. Those are nice words. According to the most recent year of comprehensive data, cancer deaths dropped an average of 2.1 percent each year from 2002-2004.

Cancer deaths started falling in 1992, and while this trend is promising, it is nowhere near the 25 percent drop in deaths by cardiovascular disease seen between 1994-2005. For leading cancers, colon cancer deaths realized the biggest drop, -4.9 percent for men between 2002-2004 and -4.5 percent for women. Prostate cancer deaths dropped -4.1 percent between 1994-2004, while breast cancer fell -2.2 percent for women between 1990-2004. Lung cancer deaths saw a -2.0 percent reduction for men between 1994-2004, while women had a much smaller reduction, 0.2 percent between 1995-2004.

According to one expert, the decline is attributed to several factors, including detection, treatments and Americans adopting healthier lifestyles. Makes me feel doubly good for choosing that healthy breakfast before stepping on the treadmill this morning! Read more in USA Today.

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I've seen stories like this before and it boggles the civilized mind: parents have to defend their kids against the madness of court-appointed medical treatment they don't believe in.

In many cases, ill-educated and bribed officials demand that cancer patients (especially children) undergo conventional cancer treatments even with the disagreement of parents. Who has the final say? In many cases, this disturbing lack of choice by biological parents makes one question if we are indeed in a free country sometimes.

The patient's parents, in this case, found a doctor specializing in holistic medicine. That doctor suggested a healthier diet and supplements instead of chemotherapy. Whatever was best for Noah (the cancer victim) should have been at stake, but who decides that? Health officials or parents?

For more information on preventing or managing cancer, please visit The Cancer Blog. In fact, blogger Heather Craven over at The Cancer Blog has her own take on the story here.

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