How adults under 50 account for just 10% of all cancer cases

 

While just 10% of cancer diagnoses occur in people under 50, research indicates that the number of instances is rising.

Experts today warned of an ongoing "epidemic" of the disease among younger individuals in response to Kate Middleton's shocking news.

On the other hand, they claimed that higher survival rates are the outcome of both early diagnosis and effective therapy.
The 42-year-old Princess of Wales courageously disclosed that tests conducted following her abdominal surgery had found an unidentified kind of cancer.

Kate said in a tearful video statement recorded at Windsor that she and William "have been doing everything we can to process and manage this privately for the sake of our young family" and that the news had come as a "huge shock."

According to Cancer Research UK, over 375,000 cases of cancer are identified annually in Britain, or 1,000 cases per day.

According to UK statistics, people between the ages of 25 and 49 account for about 10% of new cases, with women making up nearly twice as many of these age groups as men.

Individuals 75 years of age and older account for about a third (36%) of newly diagnosed cancer cases.

Conversely, almost half (54%) of all new cases are in adults between the ages of 50 and 75.

About half of all new diagnoses are cancers of the breast, prostate, lung, and intestine. These cancers make up the vast majority of new cases.

Oncologist Dr. Shivan Sivakumar of the University of Birmingham stated: "There is an epidemic of young people getting cancer right now, under the age of 50."

"We don't know what caused this."

"Young onset cancer is by no means rare," stated Professor Andrew Beggs, a specialist colorectal surgeon at the University of Birmingham.

"I manage an adult early-onset cancer clinic, and we are seeing an increasing number of cancer patients in their 40s."

Professor Lawrence Young, a molecular oncology specialist at the University of Warwick, continued, saying that younger people typically have higher cancer survival rates.

"With survival rates doubling in the last 50 years, improved outcomes are the result of early diagnosis and better treatments."
According to statistics, one in two persons will have cancer at some point in their lives.

A third of UK cases are avoidable, according to Cancer Research UK.

It wasn't until after The Princess of Wales had extensive abdominal surgery at The London Clinic in January that the cancer was identified.

The princess's cancer type and stage have not been disclosed by Kensington Palace, which has begged the public to refrain from speculating.

His Majesty added in a statement tonight that he is "closest in contact with his beloved daughter-in-law" and that he is "so proud of Catherine for her courage in speaking as she did."

 

"They will continue to offer their love and support to the whole family through this difficult time," declared the King and Queen.

Critical NHS targets for the disease, such as those for early diagnosis and treatment, are still overlooked in England, despite the toll cancer imposes on the country.

With the most recent NHS data indicating that over 10,000 individuals did not begin cancer treatment within two months following an urgent referral from their GP, the health service is currently struggling with a post-Covid backlog of cancer referrals.

This indicates that only six out of ten cancer patients, or 62.3%, were seen within the two-month timeframe.

According to NHS standards, 85% of cancer patients should be visited in this amount of time.

However, since December 2015, this goal has not been reached nationally.

In a 28-day period, only 70.9% of patients who were promptly referred for suspected cancer had a diagnosis or had the disease ruled out, a decrease from 74.2% the month before. 75% is the desired percentage.