There were 840 deaths with cancer listed as the underlying cause reported in Texas during the week ending June 17, a 1.6% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending June 17, there were 4,240 deaths in the state. 21.4% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 19.8% were from cancer and 1.5% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.8% 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 June 17	Deaths in Week Ending June 10
Heart disease	909	929
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	840	854
Cerebrovascular diseases	236	213
Alzheimer's disease	183	182
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	175	169
Diabetes mellitus	141	134
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	100	88
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	38	35
Influenza and pneumonia	32	56
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	24	22

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending June 17	Deaths in Week Ending June 10
Alzheimer disease and dementia	414	422