Canadian Cancer Statistics publication

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Media release 2017

Nearly 1 in 2 Canadians expected to get cancer. Learn more.

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This annual publication provides health professionals, researchers, policy-makers and the general public with detailed information about incidence, mortality and other statistics for the most common types of cancer by age, sex, year and province or territory. It is developed through collaboration between the Canadian Cancer Society, the Public Health Agency of Canada, Statistics Canada and provincial and territorial cancer registries with input from the Canadian Cancer Statistics Advisory Committee.

Material in this publication may be reproduced with the following suggested citation:
Canadian Cancer Statistics Advisory Committee. Canadian Cancer Statistics 2017. Toronto, ON: Canadian Cancer Society; 2017. Available at: cancer.ca/Canadian-Cancer-Statistics-2017-EN.pdf (accessed [date]).

• 2017 resources

  Figures in PowerPoint

  Introductory figures A–E
  Figures 1.1–1.10 – incidence
  Figures 2.1–2.10 – mortality
  Figures 3.1–4.2 – survival and prevalence
  Figures 6.1–6.7 – pancreatic cancer

  Source data for figures (Excel file)

  CANSIM tutorial

• National cancer statistics at a glance 
  • An estimated 206,200 new cases of cancer and 80,800 deaths from cancer will occur in Canada in 2017.
  • Half of all new cases will be lung, colorectal, breast and prostate cancers.
  • About 1 in 2 Canadians will develop cancer in their lifetimes and 1 in 4 will die of the disease.
  • 60% of Canadians diagnosed with cancer will survive at least 5 years after their diagnosis.
  • At the beginning of 2009, there were about 810,000 Canadians living with a cancer that had been diagnosed in the previous 10 years.
• British Columbia cancer statistics at a glance 

  Overview of new cases and deaths

  An estimated 206,200 new cases of cancer and 80,800 deaths from cancer will occur in Canada in 2017.

  Lung, colorectal, breast, and prostate cancer account for the top 4 newly diagnosed cancers.

  In 2017, an estimated 10,300 people will die of cancer in British Columbia, and 25,400 new cases will be diagnosed.

  Cancer statistics for men in British Columbia

  For men in British Columbia, prostate cancer is the most frequently diagnosed type of cancer.
  In 2017:

  • An estimated 2,800 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer. 
  • An estimated 1,850 men will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer. 
  • An estimated 1,500 men will be diagnosed with lung cancer.

  For men in British Columbia, lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death.
  In 2017:

  • An estimated 1,300 men will die of lung cancer. 
  • An estimated 690 men will die of colorectal cancer. 
  • An estimated 570 men will die of prostate cancer.

  Cancer statistics for women in British Columbia

  For women in British Columbia, breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed type of cancer.
  In 2017:

  • An estimated 3,500 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer. 
  • An estimated 1,550 women will be diagnosed with lung cancer. 
  • An estimated 1,500 women will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer.

  For women in British Columbia, lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death.
  In 2017:

  • An estimated 1,200 women will die of lung cancer.
  • An estimated 610 women will die of breast cancer. 
  • An estimated 630 women will die of colorectal cancer.

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  The above figures are taken from Canadian Cancer Statistics 2017. These statistics are prepared through a collaboration of the Canadian Cancer Society, the Public Health Agency of Canada, Statistics Canada and provincial and territorial cancer registries.