When I was a teenager my school bus used drive past a cancer hospital. The building was smaller than an average supermarket & we all know the people in there would never come out alive 
That hospital in now enormous and still only treats cancer patients, so I wonder why half the population now get cancer, & what is causing it to be such a common illness.
I know it is caused by mutated cells, that grow faster than our normal ones & prevent our bodies from operating how they should, but it us not a contagious illness, so why are so many people getting this disease?
Treatments are much improved, so more of us survive ! Less people smoke these days yet cancer numbers continue to increase.
What thoughts do you have about why cancer numbers have increased so much when treatments have extended , or even saved , so many lives?
Cancer is not a single disease but better medical diagnosis means more cases are detected.
Are more people getting cancer than before, though - or does it seem that way because people with cancer or with “rogue mutated cells” which may develop into cancer, are being diagnosed in the very early stages of development, even before they are aware of any symptoms?
I haven’t looked at the statistics but I’m guessing the increase in cancer patients has a lot to do with improved diagnostic techniques and screening programmes, which have led to earlier diagnosis and treatment.
Also, we have an increasing population and an ageing population, so that will increase the number of patients needing cancer treatments.
The longer people live, the risk of cell mutations increases.
By far the biggest risk factor for most cancers is simply getting older. More than three-quarters of all people diagnosed with cancer in the UK are 60 and over.
And this is because cancer is a disease of our genes – the bits of DNA code that hold the instructions for all of the microscopic machinery inside our cells. Over time, mistakes accumulate in this code – scientists can now see them stamped in cancer’s DNA. And it’s these mistakes that can kick start a cell’s journey towards becoming cancerous.
The longer we live, the more time we have for errors to build up. And so, as time passes, our risk of developing cancer goes up, as we accumulate more of these faults in our genes.
In the graph below, you can see how UK life expectancy has increased over time and the number of people living into old age is higher than ever before.
This means there are now more people than ever living to an age where they have a higher risk of developing cancer.
A quick google found this,
And a quick google found this Primus…
Is cancer on the rise in young people?
In a recent study of cancer trends among adolescents and young adults in the US, researchers reported a stunning thirty percent increase in cancer diagnoses among individuals fifteen to thirty-nine years old between 1973 and 2015.9 Dec 2020
Why do so many people get cancer now?
(1) Animals and crops fed with chemicals to make them grow and be disease resistant.
(2) Preservative treatments so food lasts longer and can be transported round the world.
(3) Aircraft exhaust pollutants from aviation fuel, burned and unburned, dropping on our towns, cities and farmland, including reservoirs.
(4) Cleaning agents used around the house.
(5) Local vehicle pollution.
(6) Vaccines.
(7) RF pollution from transmitters and mobile phones.
I could mention hundreds more but it’s time for my walk…
Be careful of the wording, a 30% increase from (say) 1% is 1.3%. Which makes it far less stunning
People who deal with cancer patients will say, quite clearly, that they cannot prove what causes cancers to occur in patients, but if one in every 2 people will get cancer it can’t be just old age that causes it. Three of my grandparents lived till they were in their 80’s yet a couple of their grandchildren had cancer at a young age.
Foxy I agree that some of the reasons you gave are contributing to the growth in cancer rates. People lived to a ripe old age in the past, but very few of them died with cancer … in fact heart disease was the cause of many deaths in older people. It is believed that many heart attacks were caused by high fat diets.
Cancer research & new treatments have improved survival rates, but I wonder if the lack of investment, owing to Covid , will now mean that more cancer patients will die.
It is interesting to read about genetics and what part these may play in our health. We now live to probably two-and-a-half times the age we did in past centuries when 30-35 was considered ‘old age’, for that reason any ‘faulty’ genes we may have inherited possibly have more chance of causing health problems. Add this to better diagnosis and understanding and it may be that this is causing the increase in cancer figures we now see.
This^ (apart from vaccines which have sneaked in there I see!). As well as the spread of cancer causing viruses. For example HPV which can lead to both cervical cancer and throat cancer (e.g. Michael Douglas), Epstein Barr, Hep B & Herpes among others can also cause cancers. I recently came across a study with findings that Covid may also cause changes awakening dormant cancer cells
There were links to the perfumes in candles and other household substances we take for granted so use of these should be limited (bladder cancer) :
Johnson Baby powder lost a court battle about the asbestos in their product (ovarian cancer) :
Some cancers are genetic (e.g. Breast) so it’s difficult to avoid if you have a family history.
Skin cancers in places like NZ due to its atmosphere :
https://www.moh.govt.nz/notebook/nbbooks.nsf/0/008DB80F639A02EFCC2578C60071FAB0/$file/Why%20is%20NZs%20Melanoma%20Problem%20So%20Bad.pdf
Just a few causes. As well as the natural hazards of our planet & our genetic profiles, our modern lives with far more human contact than in the past and comforts of living facilitated by hazardous chemicals (e.g. formaldehyde) ingesting toxins in food and drinks, pesticides pollutants etc are more likely to make us ill. As we live longer the risks increase because we are exposed to more environmental hazards. But I’m more worried about cancer incidence before age 50. Most people I know who have survived cancer contracted it in their 30s/40s. It comes back later of course.
They are working on a blood test to identify several hard to diagnose cancers early so that they can be treated in time.
I got it when I was 60 & have been clear for 10 years. There are no rules on whether cancer will return but it can for some, so we should all mention any changes and get them checked!
I can see a possible doubling of cancer patients in the next five to years, but I can guarantee vaccines will not be mentioned Annie…Blame it on Covid!
The study I posted about covid 19 cancer links is pre-vaccine Oct 2020.
When I had it 8 years ago, it was cited as happening to 1 out of 3 people. It has risen to 1 in 2 people (according to Cancer Research). However, given the chaos that the NHS now finds itself in, I daresay that more people will actually die of cancer, than get cured of it.
I have mentioned this before way back
Daughter got a lump growing from behind her ear ( she was late 20s ) she was always always talking on her mobile phone . She had the lump removed it was non cancerous, guess what it grew again a few years later , she had it removed . I told her not to have mobile to her ear , now she talks into it from a distance on loud speaker. The lump has not grown back .
Hi
There is a simple reason for this.
Too many chemicals.
The human body is an amazing thing, it can adopt to just about anything, but it takes time, we are overwhelming it.
Too many scenarios are being thrown at the Human Frame.
See what I mean Annie…
The people who are vaccinated will always convince themselves getting jabbed was the right thing to do and any illness will not be attributed to the vaccine.
When I was referred to a cancer specialist hospital, that was probably the oldest and the best in the UK in 2011; I was told that one in every two people was the rate of increase in cancer patients then. That was long before anybody had ever heard of Covid, let alone the vaccine !
Refer to my list Twink, the vaccines are just the tip of a very large Iceberg, and it’s getting worse as we rely more on untested treatments and vaccines.
You forgot to mention radiation from our nearest star as the major cause of cancer.