This Issue:

Table of Contents

Cover Story

Cover Story - Spanish Version

Mini-Lesson

Comprehension Quiz

Teacher's Guide and Worksheets

Good Medical News

Health officials announced good news in the battle against cancer last Wednesday. For the second year in a row, fewer people in the United States died of cancer.

Cancer is the second-leading cause of death in America after heart disease. But science is making strides against the disease's hefty toll. The new report shows that there were 3,014 fewer cancer-related deaths in 2004 than in 2003. The numbers also decreased between 2002 and 2003. That was the first drop since 1930.

The new data indicates a trend. "It's not only continuing," says Ahmedin Jemal of the American Cancer Society. "The decrease in the second year is much larger."

Death rates have fallen for three of the most common kinds of cancer. Experts believe that early detection, advances in treatment and a decline in smoking are responsible for the positive change. The American Cancer Society says it believes cancer deaths will continue to go lower.

"It's very exciting," says Dr. Felice Schnoll-Sussman, of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital's Weill Cornell Medical Center, in New York City. "Once you start to see a trend like this, it makes you feel like we must be doing something right."

Next: Top 5 Baby Names