Good news:

Death rates from cancer have been dropping by an average of 2.1 percent a year recently in the United States, a near doubling of decreases that began in 1993, researchers are reporting.

Why?

Much of the progress comes not from miracle cures, but from more mundane improvements in prevention, early detection and treatment of some of the leading causes of cancer death - lung, colorectal, breast and prostate tumors. Years of nagging and pleading by health officials are finally beginning to pay off, experts say, in smoking cessation and increased use of mammograms, colonoscopies and other screening tests for colorectal and prostate cancer.

But: 

American Indians and Alaska Natives in some regions are not benefiting from the same improvements as the rest of the population, and have higher rates of preventable cancers and late-stage tumors that would have had a better prognosis had they been detected sooner. Some groups within those populations have high rates of smoking. Researchers attribute the problems to poverty, lower education levels, and lack of insurance and access to medical care.

Cigarette smoking is higher among those groups, yet researchers attribute their problems to poverty. Well, at $5.00 a pack quitting smoking will kill two birds with one stone.