According to an analysis by Cancer Research UK, a third of all cancers are diagnosed in people over the age of 75.
More than 375,000 cases are detected in Britain every year, the equivalent of 1,000 per day.
Cancers of the breast, prostate, lung and intestines make up the vast majority, accounting for about half in total.
But certain types of cancer – which can grow almost anywhere in the body – are more common at different ages.
For example, prostate cancer is the most common form among men over the age of 50.
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Among women in the same age group, breast comes first.
But according to data collected by MailOnline in a fascinating interactive resource, the most common types in children and young people are brain tumors, leukemia and lymphoma.
Buckingham Palace revealed last night that King Charles has an unspecified form of cancer.
It was found during treatment for his enlarged prostate. The 75-year-old does not have prostate cancer, the most common form among older men.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said this morning he was ‘shocked and saddened’ to hear about the diagnosis. However, he was “grateful” that it was “caught early.”
Figures show that approximately one in two people will develop a form of cancer during their lifetime.
According to Cancer Research UK, a third of all cases in Britain are preventable.
Last year, bowel cancer overtook the lungs to become the third most common form of the disease, affecting 41,000 patients in England in 2021.
Only breast (almost 50,000) and prostate (43,000) became more ill.
By comparison, fewer than 40,000 cases of lung cancer were discovered.
Officials believe more people getting tested – inspired by high-profile cases such as Dame Deborah James’ – has helped boost diagnosis rates.
Last month, Sarah Ferguson revealed she had been diagnosed with malignant melanoma, the fifth most common form of cancer.
The Duchess of York, 64, is said to be in “good spirits” despite the “disturbing” news, which marks her second cancer diagnosis in six months after being treated for breast cancer last year.
Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, kidney, pancreas, bladder and lip, mouth and throat are among the ten other most common cancers in Britain.
The first sign that something was wrong with King Charles’ health came on January 17 when Buckingham Palace made a surprise announcement that the king had “sought treatment” for an enlarged prostate.
He chose to make his prostate treatment public, with the aim of encouraging more men to undergo prostate checks, the palace said at the time.
Yesterday, palace officials also revealed that he chose to share his cancer diagnosis in the hope that it would “increase public understanding for everyone around the world affected by cancer.”
For many types of cancer, the chance of developing them increases with age.
Buckingham Palace revealed last night that King Charles has an unspecified form of cancer. It was found during treatment for his enlarged prostate. The 75-year-old does not have prostate cancer, the most common form among older men. Above: Charles was last seen waving to well-wishers as he attended a service with his wife Queen Camilla at St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham, Norfolk, on Sunday.
Yesterday, Buckingham Palace revealed that King Charles chose to share his cancer diagnosis in the hope it would ‘increase public understanding for everyone around the world affected by cancer’
Last month, Sarah Ferguson (pictured in December) revealed she had been diagnosed with malignant melanoma. The Duchess of York, 64, is said to be in ‘good spirits’ despite the ‘disturbing’ news that marks her second cancer diagnosis in six months after being treated for breast cancer last year
British figures show that on average more than a third (36 percent) of new cancer cases occur in people aged 75 and over.
Adults aged 50 to 75, meanwhile, account for more than half (54 percent) of all new cases.
Those aged 25 to 49 contribute to approximately one-tenth (9 percent) of new cases, with almost twice as many women diagnosed as men in this age group.
In October, a surprising analysis – dubbed a ‘wake-up call’ – revealed that cancer now robs Britons of their lives for an average of 14 years.
For comparison, this is one year longer than for patients diagnosed in the 1980s. And experts predict it could get worse.
In the first analysis of its kind, researchers found that more than two million years of life are lost to cancer every year in Britain.
But researchers who carried out the analysis said the data somewhat paradoxically demonstrated the success of the UK’s cancer screening programmes.
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While the level of progress in cancer survival has been rapid in some forms of the disease, such as breast and prostate cancer, others, such as lung and pancreas, have improved only at a snail’s pace.
Experts told MailOnline this was likely due to a broad-based increase in life expectancy, meaning a cancer diagnosis now robs people of more of their lifespan than it did some 30 years ago.
The increase in the overall life expectancy of the population meant that people had ‘more to lose’ from the disease.
NHS cancer services repeatedly fail to meet their targets.
The latest official health care data on cancer waiting times shows that in November, only six in ten (65.2 percent) cancer patients were seen within the two-month deadline.
According to NHS guidelines, 85 percent of cancer patients should be seen within this time frame.
It comes as world health leaders also warned last week that cancer deaths in Britain will rise by more than 50 percent by 2050.
A rising and aging population – combined with unhealthy lifestyles – is expected to cause a rise in cases.
The World Health Organization predicts there will be tens of thousands more cases and deaths in Britain each year than previously estimated.