First State Times

There were 37 deaths with cancer listed as the underlying cause reported in Delaware during the week ending August 28, a 32.7 percent decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending August 28, there were 194 deaths in the state. 18 percent of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.1 percent were from cancer and 18 percent were from COVID-19.

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	Number of Deaths 2021-08-28	Number of Deaths 2021-08-21
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	37	55
Heart disease	35	43
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	18	19
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	17	16
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	11	< 10
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10
Diabetes mellitus	< 10	< 10
Alzheimer's disease	< 10	< 10
Cerebrovascular diseases	< 10	19