Contents:
- Medical Video: Why are cancer rates increasing?
- Why are more people getting cancer?
- 1. Cancer is often experienced by old age, everyone continues to grow in age
- 2. Obesity and unhealthy lifestyles are the gates that trigger cancer
- 3. Some types of cancer are currently daun rising ’
Medical Video: Why are cancer rates increasing?
Cancer is one of the non-communicable diseases whose number of sufferers is increasing. According to the Indonesian Journal of Cancer in 2017, there are 14 million new cases of cancer with 8.2 million deaths from cancer in the world. Even this figure is estimated to continue to increase by 70 percent in the next 20 years. So, why are more and more people affected by cancer in the world? Here's the explanation.
Why are more people getting cancer?
According to Dr. Bhavesh Balar, a hematologist and oncologist at the CentraState Medical Center in Freehold, United States, more and more people in the world are diagnosed with cancer. The number of cases is estimated at 14.5 million cases in the United States. Tthe three main reasons for increasing the number of cancer patients are as follows:
1. Cancer is often experienced by old age, everyone continues to grow in age
Just like heart disease, cancer affects many elderly populations. About 77 percent of all cancers are found in people over 55 years. That is, the more age increases, the risk of cancer also increases.
The longer the life of your life, the more time you might spend doing an unhealthy lifestyle. For example, eating more fast food, more lazy to exercise, and so on. Not to mention if there is a history of cancer in the family, so you become more at risk of developing cancer in the future.
According to the National Cancer Institute, the elderly have an average life expectancy of around 79 years. Unfortunately, many cancers take their lives at the age of 73 years.
2. Obesity and unhealthy lifestyles are the gates that trigger cancer
The second cause of increasing the number of cancer patients is due to the unhealthy lifestyle of the community. For example, improper diet, lack of exercise, smoking, alcohol consumption, and being overweight.
In 2014, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) published a report warning that obesity is likely to be the number one risk factor for cancer incidence, replacing smoking habits. Obesity is the biggest risk factor for several types of cancer, including breast cancer (after menopause), colon and rectal cancer, esophageal cancer, endometrial cancer, pancreatic cancer, kidney cancer, thyroid cancer, and gallbladder cancer.
3. Some types of cancer are currently daun rising ’
Although many people are now aware of cancer prevention efforts, there are several types of cancer whose cases are strengthening in the world. The types of cancer that are growing rapidly are as follows:
Human papillomavirus (HPV)
HPV infection is more commonly known as the virus that causes cervical cancer. But make no mistake, the HPV virus can also cause other types of cancer. This is because the HPV virus consists of 130 types of HPV with 40 different mutations.
HPV virus infection makes body cells develop abnormally. If your immune system is optimal, the body can fight HPV infection naturally and restore cell growth to normal. But on the contrary, a low immune system makes the body unable to eradicate the HPV virus. As a result, cell infections occur continuously and develop into cancer for years.
The HPV virus can also cause a person to develop brain cancer, neck cancer, and cancer in the back of the throat - especially at the base of the tongue and tonsils. Meanwhile, the HPV virus more often causes a person to get cervical cancer, vaginal cancer, vulvar cancer, anal cancer, and penile cancer.
Gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma (gastric cancer)
One type of cancer that is currently on the rise is a cancer that attacks digestive organs such as the pancreas, liver, kidneys and stomach. This is thought to be due to poor diet, improper selection of food ingredients, and increased infections Helicobacter pylori (bacteria that increase the risk of stomach cancer).
Cancer that grows in the stomach is usually very difficult to diagnose. Because the symptoms that appear are similar to those of other stomach ailments, such as irritable bowel syndrome and intestinal acid reflux. For this reason, cancer in the digestive organs can easily spread, be undiagnosed, and not immediately treated.
Skin cancer
Skin cancer can actually be prevented properly, one of them by using sunscreen before traveling. However, cases of skin cancer in the United States are on the rise since 2001. The three most common types of skin cancer are melanoma, basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma in the head, face, neck, hands and arms. The cause is thought to be due to certain cosmetic use factors that contain cancer-causing chemicals.
