Report: Cancer is going to be the America's leading cause of death by 2030
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

By 2030, cancer is going to be the United States' leading cause of death, according to a new report from the American Society of Clinical Oncology. The number of cancer cases diagnosed will increase by 45 percent to 2.3 million, and surpass heart disease as the country's deadliest health ailment.
And more bad news: The increase of patients battling cancer is going to "place a bigger burden on a field of medicine already stretched by physician shortages and financial difficulties," according to the report.
The problem stems from small oncology centers being forced to merge with larger hospital networks that only pay them a small percentage. Dr. Jeffery Ward told CNN that as a result, profit margins are dwindling, causing smaller centers to close, and therefore giving patients fewer options for treatment facilities.
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Jordan Valinsky is the lead writer for Speed Reads. Before joining The Week, he wrote for New York Observer's tech blog, Betabeat, and tracked the intersection between popular culture and the internet for The Daily Dot. He graduated with a degree in online journalism from Ohio University.
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