FIGURE 2-26 Age distribution of incident and prevalent cases of prostate cancer. Incidence figures are for 1998–2002; prevalence figures are for SEER 2002 and are limited to individuals diagnosed within the past 27 years.

SOURCES: Ries et al. (2005); NCI (2005b).

grade at diagnosis (Steenland et al., 2004). This finding may reflect disparities in diagnosis and treatment by educational attainment.

One-third of prostate cancer cases are diagnosed in men under the age of 65, but because men tend to live a long time with prostate cancer, the age distribution of prevalent cases is shifted to older ages, and 82 percent of prevalent cases are among men aged 65 and older (Figure 2-26). Issues related to the health care provided to survivors of prostate cancer should be of great concern to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, as four in five prostate cancer survivors are likely Medicare beneficiaries.

Colorectal cancer is the third most common invasive cancer overall (ACS, 2005c). There is a 1 in 17 probability for men and a 1 in 18 probability for women to develop colorectal cancer in their lifetimes (ACS, 2005a). In 2005 about 145,290 people will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer and about 56,290 people will die of the disease. Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death after lung cancer. The great majority of these cancers and deaths could be prevented by applying existing knowledge