Not a day seems to go by that we don’t hear of an American being struck before his time with colon cancer.
The number of cases of this condition in the US has increased by 15 percent in the past decade, reportedly due to an increasingly unhealthy lifestyle that affects the intestines.
However, new data revealing the real toll of different types of cancer among American people shows that the number of people affected by the disease remains surprisingly low.
In fact, only eight percent of total cancer cases in the U.S. are colorectal, according to the new comprehensive report on cancer diagnosis by Washington-based nonprofit USAFacts.
Furthermore, studies show that only about four percent of all men and women in the US will develop colon cancer during their lifetime.
The most common types in younger people are breast cancer (15 percent), thyroid (15 percent), testicular (eight percent) and melanoma of the skin (seven percent). The remaining 55 percent is attributed to other types of cancer, including colorectal cancer, also called colon cancer
New cancer cases increased nearly 36.5 percent from 2000 to 2019, according to CDC data. However, the age-adjusted incidence rate per 100,000 people has fallen slightly, from 485.8 to 459.5 – a decrease of 5.4 percent.
The revealing new analysis exposes the scale of the cancer crisis in the US – as annual diagnoses are found to be… 37 percent since 2019.
The data also indicates how likely a person is to develop each type of disease, depending on a host of factors such as gender, age and socio-economic background.
USAFacts used the latest official data to reveal that four types of cancer represented half of the 1.96 million new cancer cases in 2023: breast cancer (15 percent), prostate cancer (15 percent), lung and bronchus cancer (12 percent), colorectal cancer (eight percent).
The remaining 50 percent consisted of all other types. The same types of cancer, plus pancreatic cancer, were responsible for almost half of the more than 609,820 cancer deaths in 2023. Nearly half of the deaths were due to lung and bronchial cancer (21 percent).
Colon cancer constituted nine percent of deaths, pancreatic cancer eight percent of deaths and breast cancer seven percent. The remaining 55 percent of deaths were due to other cancers.
Cancer rates vary by gender, and men are always more likely to be diagnosed with cancer and die from the disease.
Heavier weight, greater inactivity and higher alcohol consumption among men are thought to be some of the reasons for the disparity.
Four types of cancer represented half of the 1.96 million new cancer cases in 2023: breast cancer (15 percent), prostate cancer (15 percent), lung and bronchus cancer (12 percent), colorectal cancers (eight percent)
As of 2019, men were about 15 percent more likely to be diagnosed with cancer and 38 percent more likely to die from the disease than women.
The gap has narrowed since 2000, when men were 37 percent more likely to be diagnosed.
Prostate, lung and colorectal cancer are the most common cancers in men, accounting for more than half of new cancer cases and 46 percent of cancer deaths among men in 2023.
For women, the most common cancers are estimated to be breast, lung and colorectal cancer, which accounted for 55 percent of their new cancer cases and half of cancer deaths in 2023.
According to the American Cancer SocietyProstate cancer is estimated to account for 29 percent of cancer cases in men, followed by lung and bronchus cancer in 11 percent of cases.
It is predicted that colorectal cancer is responsible for eight percent of new cancer cases in men.
In women, 32 percent of new cancer cases are predicted to be breast cancer, followed by lung and bronchus cancer (12 percent) and colorectal cancer (seven percent).
According to the USAFacts report, age is the most indicative factor for cancer risk.
The older you are, the more likely you are to be diagnosed with cancer.
The average age at cancer diagnosis is 66 years and the average age at death is 72 years.
But patients can be diagnosed at any age; Stories of young people with colorectal cancer have become especially common in recent years, but there are four other types of cancer that are more common in people under 40.
A 2023 study found that the rate of cancer in someone under the age of 50 has increased by almost 80 percent since 1990.
In 2019, there were 3.26 million new cancer diagnoses under the age of 50, an increase of 79.1 percent since 1990.
The older you are, the more likely you are to be diagnosed with cancer
Kate Middleton, 42, was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year after abdominal surgery
One patient with a shocking profile is Princess Kate Middleton, 42, who announced earlier this year that she had been diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer.
Experts have pointed to lifestyle factors including poor diet, obesity, alcohol and tobacco use and physical inactivity as possible causes.
Although colorectal cancer is estimated to account for 7.6 percent of all cancer cases this year, the most common forms in younger people are breast cancer (15 percent), thyroid cancer (15 percent), testicular cancer (eight percent) and melanoma of the skin (seven per cent). per cent).
The remaining 55 percent in young people is attributed to other types of cancer, including colorectal cancer, also called colon cancer.
Cancer rates also vary by ethnicity. Non-Hispanic white Americans have had the highest rates of new cancer diagnoses, followed by non-Hispanic black Americans, the report said.
However, non-Hispanic black Americans have the highest risk of death from cancer. According to the CDC, more black men than white men have said they smoke, and non-Hispanic black Americans are more likely than other groups to be exposed to secondhand smoke.
Obesity is also common among non-Hispanic black adults.
As of 2019, men (blue line) were about 15 percent more likely to be diagnosed with cancer and 38 percent more likely to die from the disease than women (pink line). The gap has narrowed since 2000, when men were 37 percent more likely to be diagnosed
Cancer rates fell between 2000 and 2019 for every ethnic group except American Indian/Alaska Native, who saw a nearly 35 percent increase in diagnoses
Non-Hispanic Asian/Pacific Islander Americans have the lowest risk of diagnosis and death from cancer.
Cancer rates fell between 2000 and 2019 for every ethnic group except American Indian/Alaska Native, who saw a nearly 35 percent increase in diagnoses.
Cancer incidence rates measure the number of newly diagnosed cases in a given population at a given time, while annual cases are the number of people with the disease at any time during a year.
Incidence rates are useful for determining the burden of cancer within a given population compared to another population, regardless of size.
And while both overall cancer incidence and death rates are declining in America, experts have warned that people should not become complacent.
‘According to 2024 data from the American Cancer Society, the incidence of six of the most common cancers – namely those associated with obesity, such as endometrial, liver, kidney, pancreatic, colorectal and breast cancer – is increasing and can dampen this cancer. the declining mortality rate in the future,” Dr. Brett Osborn, a neurologist and longevity expert from Florida, told Fox news.