Life gives us a little cancer. One major “cause” of modern increases in cancer is the fact that we’ve become so good at preventing death from other things. Childhood vaccination, antibiotics, better hypertension screening and early intervention, all of these things that prevent death make it much more likely that you’ll simply live long enough to get some kind of cancer.
That’s sound reasoning, but refuted by the fact that cancer cases are inexplicably rising in young people. Specifically along the digestive tract; esophagus, stomach, rectum, and colon cancers.
I’m sure that all-cause death being generally lower factors into it, but it doesn’t explain why younger people are getting cancer at rates almost double what they were just 25 years ago
Excellent point. I’ll be interested to see epidemiological studies confirming how much of that increase in young people is diet and the increase in obesity vs. environmental.
Life gives us a little cancer. One major “cause” of modern increases in cancer is the fact that we’ve become so good at preventing death from other things. Childhood vaccination, antibiotics, better hypertension screening and early intervention, all of these things that prevent death make it much more likely that you’ll simply live long enough to get some kind of cancer.
That’s sound reasoning, but refuted by the fact that cancer cases are inexplicably rising in young people. Specifically along the digestive tract; esophagus, stomach, rectum, and colon cancers.
I’m sure that all-cause death being generally lower factors into it, but it doesn’t explain why younger people are getting cancer at rates almost double what they were just 25 years ago
Excellent point. I’ll be interested to see epidemiological studies confirming how much of that increase in young people is diet and the increase in obesity vs. environmental.