America
Gen X Cancer Epidemic Slams Young Americans
D
What caused it and how to fix it. BY DAVID A. PATTEN
octors are sounding the alarm over a growing epi- demic of cancer among young Americans.
Although cancer deaths overall
have been declining, early-onset can- cers in those under 50 have jumped
Pre/perinatal periods Birth
POSSIBLE RISK FACTORS FOR EARLY ONSET CANCERS Adulthood
Childhood Adolescence
Genetic susceptibility Breast milk Antibiotic use, water additives/pollution, air pollution Obesity, height, physical activity, sedentary lifestyle Western-style diet, sweetened beverages Sleep pattern changes, night light Age at menarche
Oral contraceptive use Parity,breastfeeding
Cancer in young adults exacts a significant financial toll:
$1.3M
per patient (considering treatment costs and societal impacts)
They are the only age group seeing an overall increase in can- cer — rising 1% to 2% each year — since 1995.
“It’s a big problem,” Dr. Shuji Ogino,
a stunning nearly 80% worldwide in the past three decades, accord- ing to the BMJ Oncology journal, a peer-reviewed publication on cancer research, investigation, and treatment. In this country, post-millennial
Gen X and Gen Z generations are contracting cancer in record numbers.
a Harvard Medical School pathologist and epidemiologist, tells Newsmax. “We’re seeing cancer becoming more common among young people, and this means we can expect to see many more diseases, not just cancer, as these people get older.” Successive generations are facing a
greater chance of contracting cancer. Those born in the 1970s, for example, show a statistically higher cancer inci- dence than those born in the ’60s — and the pattern appears to repeat with each new decade.
Early-onset cancer
TROUBLING TRENDS Based on studies by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and World Health Organization data, 17 different types of cancer are occurring more frequently among young people than ever before. Among them: cancers of the colon, esophagus, stomach, and pancreas. These early-onset cancers disrupt
the family life cycles during the prime child-rearing and income-earning
16 NEWSMAX | OCTOBER 2024
PLATE/JEREMY HOGAN/SOPA IMAGES/LIGHTROCKET VIA GETTY IMAGES / WOMAN/CARLOS AVILA GONZALEZ/THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE VIA GETTY IMAGES
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