Nearly 50% of people diagnosed with cancer will die from other causes.

 The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (4/4, Fauber) reports, "Nearly half of people diagnosed with cancer will die from some other cause, according to research presented" at the American Association of Cancer Research annual meeting. Investigators "looked at 1,807 cancer patients who were part of a national study." The researchers "found that 49% of them died from conditions other than cancer."

        WebMD (4/4, Laino) reports, "Not surprisingly, heart disease -- the No. 1 killer in the US -- was responsible for over two-thirds of the noncancer deaths." Meanwhile, "chronic lung diseases like emphysema claimed 15% of their lives, and Alzheimer's disease and diabetes were each responsible for 4% of noncancer deaths." The researchers also reported that "the most common forms of cancer among the survivors were breast, prostate, lung, and colorectal."

        HealthDay (4/4, Dallas) reports, "The more time that passed after the initial cancer diagnosis, the more likely cancer survivors were to die from another illness." The investigators found that, "among those who died from a condition other than cancer during the study period, 33 percent had been diagnosed with cancer within the previous five years and 63 percent had been diagnosed 20 years earlier."