Why is cancer so common these days. Did you know it was very rare 100 years ago.?

Question

Please tell me why Cancer rates are so high in 2007. And appart from the obvious one NOT SMOKING how can one reduce ones chances of becoming a cancer statistic. Thank you kindly

Answer 1

One of the reasons it is more common is that we are living long enough to get it. It has been suggested for example that if all men lived to be 85, if you biopsied their prostate gland they would all have evidence of prostate cancer.

You are right the number one preventable cause is smoking. Obesity and poor diet also encourage cancer, so be close to your ideal weight, take plenty of exercise and eat fresh fruit and veg for the anti-oxidants. By the way vitamin supplements are no where near as effective for reasons that are not clear.

Answer 2

You need to read the History of Cancer. Far from being a 'new disease' cancer is an ancient, ancient disease. Cancer is not more common . . people used to die before they could be diagnosed with cancer . . now people are surviving and living with cancer. It's a common mistake . . people have been led to believe that pollution and lifestyle caused cancer . . because no one knows what causes one person to get cancer and another not to . . it gives people an idea that they can control this disease. Well, you can't. If you are going to get cancer . . there is no way to stop it from happening. You might cut down the risks if you avoid carcinogens . . don't smoke . . eat right . . exercise . . but there is absolutely no guarantee that you won't get cancer anyway. You can do everything 'right' and live a healthy lifestyle and you can still get cancer. Early detection and living a healthy lifestyle will help you to survive the cancer though.

Please read The History of Cancer:
http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_6x_the_history_of_cancer_72.asp

"Cancer has afflicted humans throughout recorded history. It is no surprise that from the dawn of history doctors have written about cancer. Some of the earliest evidence of cancer is found among fossilized bone tumors, human mummies in ancient Egypt, and ancient manuscripts. Bone remains of mummies have revealed growths suggestive of the bone cancer, osteosarcoma. In other cases, bony skull destruction as seen in cancer of the head and neck has been found.

Our oldest description of cancer (although the term cancer was not used) was discovered in Egypt and dates back to approximately 1600 B.C. The Edwin Smith Papyrus, or writing, describes 8 cases of tumors or ulcers of the breast that were treated by cauterization, with a tool called "the fire drill." The writing says about the disease, "There is no treatment."

Cancer was not rare 100 years ago . . . it was here but people died from it very quickly without treatment. Aggressive cancer tumors are horrific to look at when they start breaking through the skin and covering the body . . the disease was a great source of shame . . so if someone had cancer it was kept secret. This is true up until just 20 years ago. People who had cancer felt ashamed and often died very quickly. There was no cure.

Answer 3

You are correct. Today's statistics for the incidence of cancer uses a term called an age-adjusted rate. And sure enough, even after accounting for a longer lifespan, the age-adjusted rate for cancer climbed from 1920 to 1970 by about 1% a year.

In the entire 50 years, I don't believe there was ever a year where the rate went down.

It continued to climb on an age-adjusted rate all the way up to the last couple of years. Then the incidence rate and the death rate declined ever so slightly.

The main reason for the recent tiny decline in newly diagnosed cancers is mostly a combination of two things. A few years back, there was a big push for PSA tests and mammograms, which temporarily shot up the cancer incidence rate.

Well, that reduced the pool of cancer incidence in the following years because the patients were already diagnosed.

Thus, the statistics are merely reflecting a temporary blip.

The reason fewer people are dying from cancer is that more people are using alternative medicine. That increases the life expectancy of the patient, thereby doubling the so-called five-year-cure rate among those who use alternative treatments.

To reduce one's chances of cancer, take a little fish oil each day and 2,000 mgs of vitamin C.

In addition, eat some garlic and ginger from time to time.

If you do happen to get cancer, don't worry. I cured my own Stage 4 cancer in two weeks. That was 9 years ago. It was easy.

I used hot peppers, garlic and emulsified cod liver oil.

Good luck and be well.

Kelley

Answer 4

No, it wasn't rare at all. It was just called other things, or not diagnosed at all until too late.

I don't think cancer rates have fallen at all...while we are dealing well with certain kinds of cancer - eg. testicular cancer, cervical cancer, skin cancer, all are curable if caught early, we are seeing a rise in other cancers due to the higher amount of carcinogens around.

Our diagnostic tools have become more sophisticated...so we are picking up on unusual cancers that may not have been detected 100 years ago.
I don't think there is more cancer these days...we are just getting better at recognising the rarer forms of it.

Answer 5

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the US.

Cancer death rates for all sites combined decreased an average of 0.6 percent per year from 1990 to 1996. This decrease occurred after rates had increased by 0.4 percent per year from 1973 to 1990.

Other than age, the number one risk factor for developing cancer is exposure to chemical carcinogens. The common source of carcinogens is in the food we eat and how we prepare it. The impact of diet has been estimated at 40-60%.

Foods high in rancid fats can promote cancer. Browning any animal flesh protein during during cooking creates potent cancer-causing compounds.

Other environmental factors under our control that contribute to cancer development: overexposure to estrogen, x-rays, ultraviolet radiation, chemicals (formaldehyde and diesel exhaust), tobacco smoke, and alcohol.

The human body and its defenses have evolved to keep us healthy. But this chemical invasion over the last 100 years is too much, too fast.

On the other hand, eating high anti-oxidant foods and maintaining a strong immune system may prevent cancer and premature aging.

Best wishes.

Answer 6

Stress and how you react to it has a great deal to do with all illnesses not just cancer. But, I disagree that there were rarely any cancers 100 yrs ago. People died very young back then, we have doubled the life expectancy and in some cases tripled it. They died of typhoid, TB, childbirth, diptheria, small pox, and whether cancer was diagnosed (it is the silent killer-rarely do people know they have it)people died with it. Ok, so I'm 50, past the age I would have died 100 yrs ago and I am diagnosed with breast cancer. And I am blessed to have been born in a time when scientists spend their lives finding treatments for these illnesses. And I ate vegetables til they ran out my ears (anti-oxidants) and I still got cancer. So, live your life as long and as loving as you can. I had 5 yrs to live thanks to medicine. I am still in remission.

Answer 7

the cancer was detected just these days how can you say there was no cancer in the past 100 years .In china one out of 10 live for more than 100 years. cancer has no threshold so one has to be clean with food habits (vegetarian is the bast as meat may contain foreign substances that stimulate cancer). You can take Red mushrooms like reishi ganoderma that prevent cancer(www.reishi.com).I know personally people who got cured by this mushroom.You might be able to get it in some medical shops are ask your physician.

Answer 8

just as autism was rare 100 years ago, diagnosis of cancer is much more accurate now. As far as reducing the chances of being a stat: eat fruit and veg and live by the sea, reduce stress and for god sake quit smoking.
FYI old age stopped being a cuase of death in the fifties so all those people dying before then may have had cancer

Answer 9

Cancer was very common 100 years ago. We just did not know to term it as cancer, it was called consumption. Today, medical technology has advanced exponentially, so we are able to diagnose many different maladies as a form of cancer. This takes tests that work on the molecular level. Because we are able to diagnose more accurately, and earlier, medicine has a better chance to cure many forms of cancer.

Answer 10

I don't think cancer was as rare as you are assuming, I think our ways to test for cancer are just so much more advanced now. This disease has been around a long time and other than following the common sense approach of a good diet, regular exercise, good sleep habits, moderation, along with regular check ups, it's a coin toss as to who will get it and who won't.
Cancer Sucks!