The No. 1 killer of Americans under 85 is no longer heart disease – it’s cancer.

Narayan Hosmane, a chemistry and biochemistry professor, said brain cancer is the deadliest of all cancers and the median survival period is only around 18 months. Hosmane said brain cancer hits people of all ages.

“Educating the general public in an early stage about cancer awareness is crucial to control the outbreak of cancer,” Hosmane said. “Our lifestyles have changed. We are now more dependent on household chemicals, food additives and the artificial way of producing vegetables using a variety of chemical fertilizers.”

Education is one of the most primitive factors in preventing cancer, said Nisha Fidai, a junior textiles apparel and merchandising major.

“It is important to educate about cancer because it is happening more and more to people under the age of twenty,” Fidai said.

In addition to changing lifestyle, air and water pollution and cigarette smoking have contributed significantly to the likelihood of cancer, Hosmane said.

“The depletion of ozone in the upper atmosphere allowed the ultraviolet rays to penetrate our skin more intensely than ever,” Hosmane said.

Changes within one’s lifestyle could also help prevent cancer, sophomore psychology major Kristy Bormann said.

“A major problem is cigarette smoking,” Bormann said. “It should definitely be addressed more. Seeing as cancer is the No. 1 leading cause of death, it needs more attention.”

Although many Americans know about cancer, they may not know how it is caused.

“Unless media reports more on cancer and how to prevent it, rather than reporting daily politics, murder, high-profile court cases, Americans will never receive the full information on the cause and prevention of cancer,” Hosmane said. “The best example would be a letter from a mother describing about her daughter receiving the cancer treatment in Japan and why we need to go there to receive the treatment.”

Hosmane said the letter was sent to the Oprah Winfrey Show and showed how the Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) helped the woman’s daughter overcome brain cancer (GBM) by receiving the treatment free-of-charge, which normally costs $60,000 per patient in the United States.

“Oprah was not interested in this story since it is not juicy enough for her show,” Hosmane said. “Instead the audiences were chosen to receive free cars for the fun of it. Our media and the government are not doing enough, even though we do most research here in the U.S. and pass on the technology to abroad for obvious reasons.”

There are continuous research efforts to improve drug selectivity for particular cancers and better treatment plans, Hosmane said.

“My biggest concern is that despite being the No. 1 country in the world- with all the best brains of the world- why are we not getting much federal research grant support or encouragement to find a cure for cancer or any other deadly diseases at the level of the Japanese government,” Hosmane said.

“We need people … to appeal to the public about awareness of cancer and convince them how important it is to support research on these deadly diseases and, more importantly, what causes these diseases. Then only something positive will come out of public money.”