<P> Since 1971 the United States has invested over $200 billion on cancer research; that total includes money invested by public and private sectors and foundations . </P> <P> Despite this substantial investment, the country has seen just a five percent decrease in the cancer death rate (adjusting for size and age of the population) between 1950 and 2005 . Longer life expectancy may be a contributing factor to this, as cancer rates and mortality rates increases significantly with age, more than three out of five cancers are diagnosed in people aged 65 and over . </P>

What was the first cancer to be discovered