There's some good news in the fight against the leading cause of death in Minnesota. Angie Rolle, director of prevention and detection with the state chapter of the American Cancer Society, says the latest analysis shows a continuing slow decline in the incidence and death rate for cancer.

"In Minnesota, cancer mortality rates were 15 percent lower in 2007 than they were 20 years ago."

Rolle points to many reasons why the rates are dropping, including better early detection.

"People are going in for their cancer screenings and finding cancer at an earlier stage, which makes treatment options a lot more viable. Also, there have been advances in cancer research around treatment options."

While advances have been made, Rolle says there were 25,000 new cancer cases in Minnesota last year and challenges lie ahead. One is the growing epidemic of obesity, because about one third of all cancers can be linked to modifiable risk factors. Those include smoking, poor nutritional choices and a lack of exercise.

"Although progress is exciting, we still have a lot to do. We still need to make sure this is a priority and we're taking care of individuals and their health."

Despite the decline, the number of cancer deaths in Minnesota last year is expected to surpass 9,000.