Cancer Will Kill Nearly 10 Million People This Year, Report Estimates

(CNN) — The number of people around the world who have cancer is “rapidly growing,” with 18.1 million new cases and 9.6 million deaths in 2018 alone, researchers estimate in a new report. By the end of the century, cancer will be the No. 1 killer globally and the single biggest barrier to increasing our life expectancy, according to the report, released Wednesday by the World’s Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer. Cancer by the numbers The researchers used data from 185 countries, looking at all the places in the body cancer can occur and taking a deeper look at 36 types. Based on this data, one in five men and one in six women will develop cancer during their lifetime, the researchers estimate. One in eight men and one in 11 women will die from the disease. The number of cancer cases is increasing for a number of reasons, the report says: The global population is growing, and more people means more cancer. The population is also aging, and cancer risks grow as you age. The numbers also look worse because in many countries, stroke and heart disease deaths are declining. Cancer varies by region The likelihood that you’ll get cancer or die from it depends, in part, on where you live. Nearly half of the new cancer cases and more than half the cancer deaths worldwide were in Asia, home to 60% of the world’s population. The Americas, however, have their own serious problems with the disease, with 21% of cancer...
Source: WBZ-TV - Breaking News, Weather and Sports for Boston, Worcester and New Hampshire - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Health News Cancer Local TV Source Type: news