For the first time, cancer has surpassed heart disease as the leading cause of death for Americans under 85 years of age. In Clallam County, cancer is the number one cause of death for all age groups. This disease now touches the hearts and lives of almost everyone—you, a family member, a close friend, or a neighbor.

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Since 2002, the Olympic Medical Center’s Cancer Center has provided the communities of Clallam and Jefferson County with world-class services for many types of cancer. By 2007, OMC saw over 2,800 patient visits, a figure that has grown steadily over the last 10 years. In 2016, the OMC Cancer Center saw over 8,100 patients, an increase of over 157 percent. Medical experts and our own hospital staff could not have predicted this extraordinary growth.

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Contributing Factors: There are many factors that contribute to the need for expanded cancer services:

• Improved and expanded access to screening and early diagnosis.

• A better public understanding of the value of early detection programs such as: breast and cervical cancer for women, prostate cancer for men, lung cancer (if at risk), and colon cancer for both men and women.

• Evidence that the earlier the detection, the greater the survival rate which continues to improve.

• Awareness of cancer touching more families, neighbors, and friends.

• Awareness of the benefits of a healthier lifestyle that prevents some diseases and increases life expectancy and survival.

• The desirable climate, geography, and promotion of Clallam County as a good place to raise families as well as to retire, pushing the median age and number of seniors in the area far above the state and national averages.