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the reality of
RARE CANCER
CONSIDER THESE DOZEN STATISTICS that shed
light on the unacceptable disparities:
1
Every pediatric-specific cancer is rare. The average age at diagnosis is 8.
2
In 2017, 15,780 children received cancer diagnoses.
3
Over 95% of pediatric cancer survivors will experience a significant side effect of cancer treatment by the age of 45.
4
As of 2017, only one targeted therapy was approved for a cancer which disproportionately affects children.
5
Prostate cancer, with a five-year cure rate nearing 100%, receives National Cancer Institute funding amounting to well over half the funding received for all childhood cancers combined.
6
Pediatric care centers face critical drugs shortages due to lack of sufficient economic incentive for developers and manufacturers.
7
Cancer is the leading cause of death among Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders, and Hispanics.
8
African Americans have the highest mortality rate of any racial and ethnic group for all cancers combined.
9
Non-white patients are severely underrepresented in clinical studies. From 2015-2016, 76-79% of participants were Caucasian, 11-12% were Asian, and 5-7% were African American.
10
Over 60 cancers disproportionately affect veterans and the military. Almost two-thirds of those cancers are rare.
11
In 2018, only 25 cancers which disproportionately affect service members had an FDA-approved targeted therapy. The remainder are typically treated by surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy.
12
Seven common cancers including breast, lung, and colorectal are actually composed of 12 types of non-rare cancers, and 103 forms of rare cancer, totaling over a quarter million diagnoses each year.
BE ARMED WITH THE FACTS: DOWNLOAD A PRINTABLE VERSION HERE
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