To be alarmed at how many younger people are dying of cancer

[Onthelastsplash]

People who aren't anywhere near elderly. I'm 31 and was scrolling through Facebook earlier, thinking I could name almost 10 people whose parent had died from cancer in the past few years. In 99% of cases, the parents were under 65.
My aunt died from cancer when I was 15 and she was approx early 50s.
Deborah James' story is so heartbreaking.
Sarah Harding was such a tragic loss.

Does anybody else feel slightly scared of how common cancer deaths seem to be in younger/middle aged people? Has it increased in recent years? Survival rates are supposed to have increased a lot in the last few decades, for the most part.

I've thought this before. I'm in remission at the moment and obviously there are many complex causes, including genetic, but I believe that some of the cause of the increase in rates is environmental. Look at the low standards of imported food, look at food packaging - the cheapest type of plastic that hugs the food as it sits on a shelf for months and leaches shit into it. Look at the carpets and furniture we put in our homes and breathe in - made in the cheapest way, filled with the worst types of chemicals. And it goes on - all the plastic shit we put in our homes and give to our kids. The state of our water - the water we drink and bathe in - and the Tories have just voted to let it get even more polluted.

Ultimately no-one knows but what's really frightening is that there is no plan. No-one has a plan. We assume that someone does. And while groups of scientists all over the world are doing amazing things no-one does really have "a plan". So any overarching links or causes might take many many years to be identified. At the cost of so many lives.

The reason we notice that people are dying of cancer though is because people are living longer with cancer.

It used to be that people got cancer, then died. It was rare to hear of people going through years and years of chemo and radiotherapy and then gradually sinking, obviously chemo/radio therapy was available back then but the treatments were less effective.But now people have the time,and means (social media) to talk about their cancer journey, and so we hear more about it.

And it is a fact that lifestyle is the cause of most cancers, around 75% iirc. That doesn’t mean that someone is necessarily to blame if they die of cancer, but it does mean that many cancers are preventable. Of course some cancers just happen. But we can’t avoid talking about the need for many lifestyle changes just because it will upset someone who didn’t live in such a way that their cancer could have been prevented.

Smoking, drinking, obesity, to name just a couple of things are responsible for cancer. Equally though there are other factors which mean that sometimes we put benefit over risk.

So e.g. if you take HRT you’re more likely to develop breast and ovarian cancer. Organ transplant recipients are more likely to develop cancer. And yet in those situations we opt for those treatments because for now, we benefit from them. But there is still potentially a price to pay for going through them. Iyswim.

I personally had 2 friends and several teachers and their partners die of cancer when I was growing up.

My cousin was diagnosed with leukaemia when he was 3. He went through chemo and radiotherapy and into remission, twice. But every week they would go to the hospital for his treatments, and there would be another child gone. Dying from leukaemia at that point was in fact more common than surviving it.

And that is the same with so many other cancers. The survival rates are much much higher than they used to be. But people will always die from it, and now we are able to watch thos people dying through media and social media etc which makes it seem more common than it used to be whereas actually it’s less common.

I agree. I was diagnosed at 23 with an extremely rare type of cancer. Less than 10% see 5 years and I'm turning 28 next month so fingers crossed for many more years!

The most shocking statistic I’ve heard recently: the top cause of death for under 18s in the US is firearms. I’m much happier to be in the UK where it’s cancer.

I'm not sure I can agree it was terrifying.

Thanks for the gaslighting there

Youre absolutely right and I was wrong. The early days of COVID before treatment options and widespread PPE when we lost team members was among the best days of my life. I see that now.

The main reason for cancer delay is the lack of specialist cancer consultants. That's because many have been put under too much pressure, having to cover hospital areas over 100 miles away, so spending much of their time travelling, having to cover for colleagues and tumour sites they are not trained for, being involved in bureaucracy, and doing very very long hours. They know that without them, their patients due so they work all possible hours until they are burnt out and can't do it any longer.

Some areas do ok, especially in main cities, others, especially country counties are at critical point.

All we achieved was choosing who died when. Cost billions and many people their lives
Indeed, but it wouldn't have helped much if those dying of covid were the consultants who were treating cancer patients. Let's not forget that a large number of NHS staff died treating patients especially in the first wave.

The stats do not support your belief. The mortality rates are improving all the time www.nuffieldtrust.org.uk/resource/cancer-mortality-rates?gclid=Cj0KCQjwheyUBhD-ARIsAHJNM-MEQPlylhMQEvRHJ3t28NB_lrE5GWGZqAlgeAg29PwbUPMSJ7nc4aAaAnWGEALw_wcB#background
However the Covid period may have a small impact on this. What is true is that older people are more likely to die of cancer than before simply because they are living longer and avoiding other causes of death. The drop in smoking is also bring down the likelihood of certain cancers.

The 'synthetic world is bad for us' narrative reminded me of a story from round here. I live near a river with three big, famous bridges.

One was built in Victorian times and around 75 men and children died building it. Hundreds more had life-changing injuries.

One was built in the 70s and 7 men died building that one.

One was built 5 years ago, one man died and it was (rightly) a national scandal - no body should die at their work.

The Industrial Age was bad for us, the 70s were bad for pockets of us (see asbestosis etc), the Bronze Age was terrible for life expectancy, all those mammoths, the medieval age wasn't great for anyone who drank water or could wave a sword around... I'm being slightly sarky but essentially this idea that we live in a safe, benign planet isn't correct. Hundreds of thousands of infants still die from D&V every year, for example. Life expectancy in the UK is not going down, although of course every single death is a tragedy.

@Tiredalwaystired

Oh for gods sake.

Disagreeing with someone is not gaslighting.

Does that then mean that you are gasligtung me to refuse to accept my experience and opinion?

I worked through it too. I was not terrified.

If you were, then thats your experience which you are entitled to. Mine was different.

Gaslighting my arse

@vivainsomnia

I'm not sure I get your point in relation to mine.

I'm aware NHS staff lost their lives, that'd tragic.

I'm not sure what the beak down is in terms of staff role and caught at work v at home.

I did see an article the other week from the BmJ criticising the govt for not protecting doctors more which I thought was pretty insensitive given that porters, cleaning staff, kitchen staff, nurse and hca also were put at risk.

Probably more risk than doctors were

It does seem more people are dying younger.
5G, more times around devices, processed food perhaps? First things that cross my mind as to why anyway

It does seem more people are dying younger.
5G, more times around devices, processed food perhaps? First things that cross my mind as to why anyway

What's your source for 5G?

www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/causes-of-cancer/cancer-myths/do-mobile-phones-cause-cancer

I can't recall the details, but I do recall the petitions in the town near me to stop it.
It made sense to me that it may not be safe.
The only way to really tell is time. If more are getting cancer younger, something has changed. I don't think anything should be ruled out at this point.

This was happening long before Covid

Were these the same people who linked Covid with 5G?

It's just speculation which doesn't help. Unless you can provide a reliable source.

Yes, using statistics is a more reliable indication.

Cancer treatment wasn't stopped. Many of us continued treatment. What did happen though that there were not enough specialists to see all new patients.
My own consultant was working 60 hours per week all through covid and is exhausted. She looks 10 years older than she did before

@Topgub agree! The gaslighting comment is thrown around when people have no idea what it actually means ! Makes me cringe.