Objectives  The U.S. Surgeon General and the Department of Health and Human Services have proposed a goal-oriented public health program known as the Healthy People 2000 Objectives. The program's objective for cancer is to reduce cancer deaths by 50 percent by the turn of the century, saving around 230,000 lives each year. Whether we achieve this goal will be determined in large part by the behavior of individuals over the rest of the decade.
    The plan focuses on state-of-the-art treatments, early detection, screening and prevention. In the short term, it's expected that increased use of state-of-the-art treatments will bring about the greatest reduction in the number of deaths. But earlier and more effective screening and prevention eventually should save more lives by reducing the incidence of cancer.
    The success of the Year 2000 Objectives for cancer hinge on two things that are within the power of each individual:
• Your eagerness to increase your understanding of the causes of cancer and the risk factors associated with it.
• Your willingness to act upon that information to reduce your chances of developing cancer and enhance the
  quality of your life.