These are some concerning numbers…
A new study published in the Lancet Public Health journal revealed members of Generation X and millennials face higher risk of certain cancers in comparison to earlier generations, The Hill reported.
“These findings add to growing evidence of increased cancer risk in post-Baby Boomer generations, expanding on previous findings of early-onset colorectal cancer and a few obesity-associated cancers to encompass a broader range of cancer types,” Sung said.
The study pointed out the need to find and combat the “underlying risk factors in Gen X and Millennial populations” in order to explain why cancer risks are rising in younger generations. Chief scientific officer for the American Cancer Society, William Dahut, highlighted uterine cancer as one form with alarming rates.
Senior author of the study, Ahmedin Jemal, provided a clear warning on the rise in cancer rates in young patients.
“The increase in cancer rates among this younger group of people indicate generational shifts in cancer risk and often serve as an early indicator of future cancer burden in the country,” Jemal said.
“Without effective population-level interventions, and as the elevated risk in younger generations is carried over as individuals age, an overall increase in cancer burden could occur in the future, halting or reversing decades of progress against the disease.”
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Source: Black Enterprise
