75% of All Deaths are Caused by 12 Things

People in the world today are more likely to die from a terminal illness than an unexpected or sudden death. We have been learning how to live with death for an extended period of time and our grieving process starts at diagnosis rather than at death itself.

Did you know that 75% of all deaths in the United States are caused by 12 things? This right here is why we need to talk about death and dying and plan for that inevitable future. (The facts and figures for this article were compiled by the CDC in 2019 and are pre-covid.)

The first is heart disease followed by cancer. Those two alone are responsible for 45% of deaths in the U.S.

1. **Heart Disease 23.1%
2. Cancer 21.7%
   (two-thirds of people diagnosed with cancer currently have a five-year survivial rate.)
3. ☆Accidents 5.9%
   (Most common between ages 1 and 44. most common among men and people with risky jobs. The three leading causes of accidental death are traffic deaths, poisoning, and accidental falls.)
4. Chronic Lower Respiratory Diseases 5.6%
   (COPD, asthma, pulmonary hypertension, and emphysema.)
5. Stroke 5.18%
6. Alzheimer’s 4.23%
7. Diabetes 2.9%
8. Pneumonia and Flu 1.88%
9. Kidney disease 1.8%
10. Suicide 1.64%
11. Septicemia 1.42%
    (A bacterial infection of the bloodstream. Most common among young children, people with chronic illness or impaired immune systems, and adults over 75.)
12. Chronic liver disease 1.39%
    

Cancer facts:
43% of all cancers diagnosed in men in 2020 were prostate, lung, and colorectal cancers. For women in 2020, the top three were breast, lung, and colorectal. Those accounted for 50% of cancer in women in 2020.

Worldwide, cancer is among the leading causes of death. 18.1 million new cases and 9.5 million deaths were reported in 2018. By 2040, the estimates are expected to rise to 29.5 million new cases and 16.4 million deaths.

**The world’s biggest killer is heart disease with 16% of the world’s total deaths. ☆ 2020 and 2021 figures change this to include Covid-19. Covid deaths were #3 in both years.

Please make time to think about your death and make sure your wishes are spelled out. Encourage your loved ones to do so too! Have a small get-together so you can all talk and work on your plans. Let’s once again normalize the idea of talking about death. After all… we’re all headed in that same direction.