Cancer - Advances, Knowledge, Integrative & Holistic Treatments

The recent Angelina Jolie double mastectomy announcement has raised the profile and awareness of cancer. As a result I have seen many comments and been in several discussions about cancer.

It is generally accepted by most people that the rate of cancer increases with age. This is due primarily to the fact that as we age, our biological processes and cells that we use to fight off cancer deteriorate. So if that is the case it is logical to assume that the older we get the greater risk of cancer. When comparing cancer rates today with those of 100 years ago many people argue that today people live longer and therefore cancer rates increase in older people.

I decided to look a bit closer myself and downloaded some published statistics about cancer rates from a UK organization called Cancer Research UK (http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/cancer-info/cancerstats/incidence/age/ ).

I chose to analyze the statistics of incidence rates by age-group in Great Britain in the years 1980, 1990, 2000, and 2008 (the most recent year available). That is a span of 28 years. The age-groups were 0-39, 40-59, 60-74, 75+. My expectation was to see an increase in cancer rates in older people that stood out above the rest of the age-groups. This is what I found according to the numbers from 1980 to 2008 indicating the incidence of cancer by age-group per 100,000 of population in that age-group:
- 0-39 age-group: increased by 43% (from 30 to 43)
- 40-50 age-group: increased by 18% (from 337 to 399)
- 60-74 age-group: increased by 27% (from 1,106 to 1,409)
- 75+ age-group: increased by 25% (from 1,892 to 2,373)

It is quite clear that the highest rise in the percentage incidence of cancer is in the age-group 0-39 at 43%. This is contrary to popular opinion. If we assume the figures and my calculations are correct, then it seems to indicate that there is a higher percentage increase in cancer incidence amongst people who are at an age when their body should be at the peak of health, rather than when they are older and perhaps less healthy.

If I have missed something here, or miscalculated, I apologize. But if I haven’t then it certainly warrants further analysis. It makes me recall the saying attributed to the 19th-century British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics."

Perhaps someone could point out if I have miscalculated or misinterpreted.