The numbers are stark and will touch every single American.

A picture of cancer in the greying American population was drawn in a recent study in the Journal of Geriatric Oncology examining trends in the National Cancer Institute’s population-based SEER data:

The number of “oldest of the old” Americans (age 85 or older) will double between 2000 and 2030; and will have tripled by 2040 (from 4.3 million to 15.4 million).

• Cancer in the oldest old is the 2^nd leading cause of death: More than 1 in 5 over age 85 will develop cancer.
• The total cost of cancer care will rise 39% in just 10 years, between 2010 and 2020—much of that cost in care for elderly.
• Among those age 85 or above, colorectal cancer (CRC) is the most common cancer.

That’s some of the bad news. But the recent story of colorectal cancer, ironically, also brings a ray of hope. Read the rest of this entry »

Rectal cancer rates are increasing in people under 40, although rates of colon cancer have remained stable in younger people.

It isn’t clear why, but rectal cancer rates in this young group of men and women began increasing in 1984, rising about 3.8 percent a year.

Increases were similar for both sexes and all races. Read the rest of this entry »