Cancer In Uk

[emmie]

on the increase, or simply a better, quicker diagnosis, the figures are quite frightening whichever way one looks at this.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-25713750

[boxtops]

IMO, it's the better and faster diagnosis which we have these days, and better awareness in the population. People are generally going to the doc earlier, getting cancers diagnosed which would never have been spotted years back.

[emmie]

the link says that more are being diagnosed than even ten years ago.

[emmie]

and that ageing has had an impact...

[Sqad]

Combination of the two........better diagnosis, but fatter people living longer is the big reason for that increase.

[naomi24]

Better and quicker diagnosis - and treatment. Cancer is not necessarily the killer is once was.

[emmie]

i have seen cancer kill at least ten people, most very close to me, including o/h, early on as well, not into older age.

[emmie]

he wasn't fat either, nor were the others, lifestyles perhaps, hectic pace, more stress, cigs don't help, even if one has stopped a while back, i do understand that part. I have never smoked, never ever liked it, nor the cost in economic terms or health wise.

[boxtops]

We must keep it in proportion, though - there are around 64,000,000 people in the UK according to the ONS - 330,000 diagnoses is 0.5% of the population, - is that 1 in 20 of us who may have a diagnosis?

[emmie]

from the link

Nearly a third of a million people are being diagnosed with cancer each year in the UK, according to the charity Cancer Research UK.

It says around 50,000 more people are finding out they have cancer every year than a decade ago.

The rise is due to more people living to a ripe old age.

Meanwhile, research by the University of Exeter suggests patients want cancer symptoms to be checked out more quickly than NHS guidelines recommend.

Age is the biggest risk factor for cancer.

And as life expectancies have increased in the UK, so too has the number of people being diagnosed with cancer.

In 2001, 283,000 people were told they had cancer. This increased to 331,000 in 2011.

[emmie]

the mortality rates are high, almost 160,000 in one year, aren't we way down the league on that score of survivability of cancers.

http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/cancer-info/cancerstats/mortality/

[boxtops]

..and in some ways that's great - early diagnosis is far more likely to lead to early treatment and hopeful cures for many people. Good to see more men are picking up symptoms too, these days.

[Sqad]

boxy...those figures include all age groups combined...babies, children young adults etc.

What is more to the point and easier to understand is that roughly 1 in 4 will have a diagnosis of cancer in their "lifetime."

[boxtops]

Yes, sqad - you're right. That's the total population (although cancer is still diagnosed in the very young, so presumably they are included in those stats?)

[emmie]

Cancer mortality statistics are presented here.

In the UK in 2011, there were 159,178 deaths from cancer,
hardly a small number

[Zeuhl]

we need to die from something.

the more we avoid other mortalities the more likely we are to get cancer.

[emmie]

thank you for that insightful point, die from something, this costs not just the individual, the family, but the NHS many millions, if not billions, in cancer treatments, drugs, and so forth, how about they start finding cures for these cancers, after all some of biggest charities are cancer ones.

[emmie]

and it isn't nice seeing a child with cancer, horrible in fact

[LazyGun]

You need to look at trends, too. Despite the increase in numbers of people suffering cancer, which is linked to age - More people are living longer - the trend for people actually dying of their cancer is going down. It is this trend that we can influence - through centralising/regionalising cancer care centres, offering greater expertise in cancer management, for a start.

Diagnosing cancers earlier helps too; One very obvious distinction between the UK and pretty much everywhere else is the point at which cancers are diagnosed, pointing to people being reluctant to attend their GP.

New treatments are coming along. New methods of molecular modelling are helping to speed up new cancer drug therapy; A better understanding of the biochemical processes of a cancer allow for more targeted therapies. Improvements in heathcare support - blood transfusion therapy for instance- allow us to treat cancers more aggressively, and earlier.

The best cure for cancer is to reduce your chances of developing one in the first place - so reducing smoking, being more careful of your alcohol intake are good things. Obesity remains an issue however.

[Zeuhl]

/how about they start finding cures for these cancers/

yes

then more of us can go down with dementia!

/it isn't nice seeing a child with cancer, horrible in fact/

an emotive but statistically irrelevant comment

childhood cancer is (thankfully) in the minority and they have some of the highest cure rates

they are a small minority of cancer deaths
the bulk of which are old people or people who have increased their risk through lifestyle choices

[sandyRoe]

The Japanese are noted for their longevity. Would their diet be the reason they live longer yet don't seem to succumb to cancers?