Jennifer Brown@jenbrowncolo

The number of people who die of cancer has dropped nationwide in the last 25 years, but the decline in Colorado is even steeper, according to data released Monday.

The cancer death rate has declined 31 percent in Colorado, compared with 27 percent nationally. Related, Colorado is in the top five states with the lowest percentage of people diagnosed with cancer, a statistic doctors link to the state’s healthy lifestyle, lower-than-average obesity rates and lower smoking rates.

“A good reason that Colorado does pretty well is that it’s a pretty healthy place,” said Dr. Myles Cockburn, co-leader of the University of Colorado Cancer Center’s Cancer Prevention and Control Program, which released the Colorado cancer data.

However, Colorado — one of the sunniest states and also with the highest average elevation of any state — has the nation’s highest per-capita rate of skin cancer.

Cancer remains the second-leading cause of death for Americans, behind heart disease, and the leading cause of death for Coloradans. In Colorado, 50 percent of men and 40 percent of women will have cancer in their lifetime, according to Cathy Bradley, deputy director of the CU Cancer Center.

Lung cancer remains the deadliest cancer in Colorado and most states, but it is not the most prevalent cancer in this state. The most commonly diagnosed cancer for men is prostate, while the most common among women is breast cancer. Lung cancer is the second-most common cancer for both sexes. Melanoma, the worst kind of skin cancer, is the fifth-most diagnosed cancer for men in Colorado and the sixth for women.