Sunshine Sentinel

There were 903 deaths with cancer listed as the underlying cause reported in Florida during the week ending May 8, 2021, a 3.3% increase over the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending May 8, 2021, there were 4,580 deaths in the state. 19.4% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.7% were from cancer and 14.4% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 8.5% of deaths were from Alzheimer's disease and dementia.

Studies show doctors and medical examiners may underreport Alzheimer's disease and dementia-related conditions as the underlying cause of death on death certificates, according to the National Institute on Aging.

Once infected, older adults with dementia are likely to develop a more severe and dangerous illness. The diseases which make an older adult more vulnerable to COVID-19 are age-associated chronic conditions, according to the Bright Focus Foundation.

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending May 8, 2021	Deaths in Week Ending May 1, 2021
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	903	874
Heart disease	889	879
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	350	339
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	309	307
Cerebrovascular diseases	306	283
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	183	203
Alzheimer's disease	140	118
Diabetes mellitus	135	126
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	53	77
Influenza and pneumonia	49	49

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending May 8, 2021	Deaths in Week Ending May 1, 2021
Alzheimer disease and dementia	388	368