“The war on cancer” was always the wrong metaphor - implying that a relatively short, sustained effort could “win” the struggle once and for all. Cancer is too many different diseases for that approach to be realistic.*

But the “permanent police action against cancer” (not quite so pithy, I’ll admit) may finally be succeeding in the U.S. For the first time ever, as this story notes, both the pace at which Americans are getting cancer and the number dying from all types of cancer are declining. It’s not just the decline in smoking (now at the lowest rate ever in the country), either - breast and colo-rectal cancers are also declining, among other types.

*Draw your own conclusions about “war on terror,” “war on drugs” and, of course, “war on bad haircuts.”