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This is a cartoon comparing a Myth ("Cancer rates reach epidemic proportions") to the Facts (a run chart showing that colon cancer deaths per 100000 men when adjusted for age were stable between 1940 and 1990). The subtext is that people are unduly persuaded by numbers lacking context and do not practice sufficient information literacy (especially in matters mathematical). A higher total number of cancer deaths should be assumed in a society with a growing population where cancer is more likely to be accurately diagnosed where cancer-related fatalities are more likely to properly recorded and reported etc.

Title

Is there a cancer "epidemic"?

Description Generated using AI

This is a cartoon comparing a Myth ("Cancer rates reach epidemic proportions") to the Facts (a run chart showing that colon cancer deaths per 100000 men when adjusted for age were stable between 1940 and 1990). The subtext is that people are unduly persuaded by numbers lacking context and do not practice sufficient information literacy (especially in matters mathematical). A higher total number of cancer deaths should be assumed in a society with a growing population where cancer is more likely to be accurately diagnosed where cancer-related fatalities are more likely to properly recorded and reported etc.

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"Is there a cancer "epidemic"?." OIDA Image Collection. Available at https://images.oida-resources.jhu.edu/9303996f-e61e-428b-a1d3-d55df71a5...