ALBANY – New York State has announced a five-year plan for fighting cancer. The plan is designed to target smoking, poor nutrition and obesity. State health officials say that on an annual basis, Cancer is diagnosed in more than 100,000 New Yorkers while killing about 35,000. Noting the nearly 1 million cancer survivors among the state’s 19 million people, the initiative also calls for tracking their quality-of-life outcomes and ensuring appropriate follow-up care including ongoing screenings.
The primary strategy for better early detection is implementing the 2010 federal law intended to help extend health coverage to 2.7 million uninsured New Yorkers. Starting in 2014, the New York Health Benefit Exchange, a federally required and subsidized marketplace for buyers, is expected enroll about 1.1 million uninsured.
The State Health Commissioner says cancer is the second leading cause of death in New York state. In 2010, the disease killed 35,092 people, down about 2,000 in a decade, compared with 44,557 deaths from heart disease, which was down more than 13,000 since 2000.
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