Facts: Cancer in Oklahoma

• Cancer is the second leading cause of death in Oklahoma.¹
• It is estimated that approximately 17,860 Oklahoma citizens will be diagnosed with cancer in 2008 and that more than 7,400 Oklahoma citizens will die from it.²
• Approximately 60 percent of patients with cancer in the United States currently receive traditional X-ray radiation.²
• 1 in 2 men will be diagnosed with cancer during his lifetime.²
• 1 in 3 women will be diagnosed with cancer during her lifetime.²
• Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death nationally and in Oklahoma for both men and women, claiming more than 2,400 lives annually in Oklahoma alone.²
• Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among Oklahoma men, with more than 2,530 new cases expected this year.²
• Breast cancer is the leading cancer diagnosis for Oklahoma women, with more than 2,270 new cases expected in 2008.²
• African-Americans have the highest cancer incidence and mortality rates for all major cancers other than breast cancer.³
• African-American women are 50 percent more likely to die of breast cancer than Caucasian women.⁴

1. National Vital Statistics Reports, National Center for Health Statistics Volume 56, Number 10, April 24, 2008,
2. American Cancer Society Facts and Figures 2007-2008
3. Socioeconomic factors and Breast Cancer in black and white Americans. Cancer Metastasis Rev 2004; 22:55-65
4. Trends in breast cancer by race and ethnicity. CA Cancer J Clin 2003;53:342-5

Updated October 2008