Why Gen X is the First Generation to Have More Cancer than Their Parents
A new study shows that the long-term decline in cancer rates may be reversing.
A lot of epidemiology starts with a simple question. But as you think about it, you realize just how complicated the question actually is. Here’s a simple question — is cancer more common today than it was in the past?
Easy, right? Well — let’s take it apart. I mean, the truth is there are more new cases of cancer in the US now than there have ever been before. Last year, 2 million people in the country were diagnosed with cancer. There were about 1 million diagnosed in 1990. Of course, that’s misleading — the population of the US is bigger now than it ever was before. So we don’t want a count really, we want a rate — like a rate per 100,000 individuals.
But even the cancer incidence rate is not entirely clear cut. After all, the population of the US is older now than it was in, say, 1960, and age is the major risk factor for most cancers, so if the rate of certain cancers are increasing, is it really fair to conclude that something worrisome is driving that if it’s really…
