Evergreen Reporter

There were 260 deaths from cancer reported in the state of Washington in the week ending August 21, making up 19.8 percent of total deaths by all causes in the state of Washington, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending August 21, there were 1,311 deaths in the state. 17.1 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.8 percent were from cancer and 22.2 percent were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.4 percent 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	Cause of Death	% of Total Deaths
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	260	19.8
Heart disease	224	17.1
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	155	11.8
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	136	10.4
Alzheimer's disease	63	4.8
Cerebrovascular diseases	55	4.2
Diabetes mellitus	37	2.8
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	36	2.7
Influenza and pneumonia	15	1.1
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 0.8

Cause of Death	Cause of Death	% of Total Deaths
Alzheimer disease and dementia	123	9.4