Cancer

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LONDON: In another seven years, half of Britons will get cancer in their lifetime. New projections made by the highly trustedMacmillan Cancer Support in London has some worrying stats.

In 2020 almost one in two people (47%) will get cancer in their lifetime, but almost four in 10 (38%) will not die from the disease.

This means cancer will take the life of six in every 10 affected.

The new figures, analysing existing data, found that the proportion of people in the UK who will get cancer in their life has increased by more than a third over the past 20 years.

In 1992, around one in three people (32%) who died that year had been diagnosed with cancer at some point in their life.

By 2010, this had risen to more than four in 10 (44%).

And the proportion will continue to rise to be almost one in two (47%) by 2020.

Today, more than one in three (35%) of those people who die having had a cancer diagnosis will now die from other causes.

This is up from one in five (21%) 20 years ago.

By 2020 this will improve further to almost four in 10 people (38%).

This means the number of people who get cancer but die from another cause has doubled over the past 20 years.

In 1992, around 45,000 cancer patients died from other causes; by 2010 this increased to around 90,000.

The most common other causes of death aside from cancer are as follows: one in five (20%) die from ischaemic heart disease; another one in five (20%) die from respiratory disease; and around one in eight (12%) die from cerebrovascular disease such as stroke.

Professor Jane Maher, chief medical officer, Macmillan Cancer Support says "That we live longer as a nation, and that we are improving cancer treatment, are things to celebrate. We do, however, need to add a serious note of caution: the more successful we are with treatment and cure, the more people we have living with the long-term effects of cancer and its treatment".

The organization says the growth in the number of people getting cancer is due to overall improvement in life expectancy (the population ages the incidence of cancer rises).

The reduction in the proportion of those diagnosed who die of their cancer is because of a greater focus on early diagnosis, advances in cancer treatments and better cancer care.

Though the survival trend is encouraging, there is growing evidence that many cancer patients do not return to full health after gruelling treatments and the serious side effects of the disease.

Ciaran Devane, chief executive, Macmillan Cancer Support says, "Because of the progress in healthcare - ironically largely for conditions other than cancer - in only seven years time nearly half the population will get cancer in their lifetime. This poses a herculean challenge"

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