Why Are So Many Young People Getting Cancer? It ’s Complicated

Just this month, two young, high-profile public figures announced that they have cancer. First, Olivia Munn, 43, disclosed that she was treated for breast cancer after catching it early. Days later, Kate Middleton, 42, announced she has been receiving treatment for an unspecified form of cancer. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Their diagnoses spotlight a troubling trend: both in the U.S. and around the world, cancer diagnoses are growing more common among adults younger than 50. By 2030, one recent study estimated, the number of these early-onset cancer diagnoses could increase by roughly 30% worldwide—and the number of people who die from their conditions could rise by about 20%. “The most striking finding in the last decade has been this rise in incidence rates among young adults,” says Ahmedin Jemal, senior vice president of surveillance and health equity science at the American Cancer Society (ACS). Cancer is still most commonly diagnosed among people older than 65. In the U.S., only about 12% of cancers are diagnosed among adults younger than 50, according to ACS data. A woman in the U.S. has about a one in 17 chance of being diagnosed before she turns 50, while a man has about a one in 29 chance, the ACS says. (Women are more likely to be diagnosed largely because breast cancer is so common.) Read More: The Race to Make a Vaccine for Breast Cancer But those odds are gradually getting worse. In 2019, about 103 cancers were ...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized healthscienceclimate Source Type: news