Is Cancer Becoming More Prevalent?
Live long and prosper
The number of people living with a cancer diagnosis has never been greater. In fact, 40% of individuals will get cancer during their lifetime. Cancer has nearly caught, and will likely soon overtake, heart disease as the number one cause of death in the US. So, is cancer really becoming a bigger problem over time? The answer is yes, but only if you think gray hair and wrinkles are as well. A major reason cancer is increasing is because people are living longer and not dying of something else like infections and heart disease. Cancer is an age-related disease, meaning the incidence increases as individuals grow older, especially after age 60. Life expectancy (from birth) in the United States has risen from 39.4 years in 1860, to 78.9 years in 2020. Just since 1965, the life expectancy for both men and women has increased by roughly 10 years.
Another reason for the apparent increased incidence of cancers is completely artificial. We are much better today at diagnosing cancers than in the past. Many cancers are diagnosed at a much earlier stage through screenings and early detection strategies. Moreover, cancer deaths in the past were under-reported. Many causes of death were previously called “natural causes” or “old age.” Now an actual cause of death is more often determined. Despite more cancer being diagnosed, the cancer death rate has declined by more than 25% over the past 40 years as a result of earlier diagnoses and improved therapies.
There may be no way to completely prevent cancer. If a person lives long enough, developing cancer may be inevitable. However, a healthy lifestyle can certainly improve the chances of following Mr. Spock’s advice to “live long and prosper”. Such a healthy lifestyle can both prevent (for example, by not smoking) and delay the onset of and complications of cancer. Obesity and its consequences, notably type II diabetes and hypertension, are epidemic in our culture and can be more problematic than many forms of cancer, and 5% of cancers are related to obesity. Although Rick and Mike like to believe 70 is the new 40, there is now actual science to back up that statement. A recent study found that individuals in their 70s who have been exercising regularly for decades are about as strong and have the heart and lung capacities of healthy people in their 40s.
