A new report from the American Cancer Society has found that the U.S. cancer mortality rate has fallen by one-third since 1991. But this isn’t a result of medical breakthroughs — it is in large part due to behavioral changes, such as less people smoking due to public health campaigns and policy changes — and better treatment for late-stage cancers as well as improved screening.

Here & Now host Deepa Fernandes speaks with Derek Thompson, staff writer at The Atlantic, about this surprising news.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.