Cancer overtakes heart disease as biggest rich-world killer

[snoop1130]

Cancer overtakes heart disease as biggest rich-world killer

 

FILE PHOTO: A research associate takes out a clinical sample (cancer cell) from -150 degree C Ultra-low Temperature Freezer at the Bioresource Research Center of Tokyo Medical and Dental University in Tokyo, Japan July 21, 2016. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo

 

LONDON (Reuters) - Cancer has overtaken heart disease as the leading cause of death in wealthy countries and could become the world's biggest killer within just a few decades if current trends persist, researchers said on Tuesday.

 

Publishing the findings of two large studies in The Lancet medical journal, the scientists said they showed evidence of a new global "epidemiologic transition" between different types of chronic disease.

 

While cardiovascular disease remains, for now, the leading cause of mortality worldwide among middle-aged adults - accounting for 40% of all deaths - that is no longer the case in high-income countries, where cancer now kills twice as many people as heart disease, the findings showed.

 

"Our report found cancer to be the second most common cause of death globally in 2017, accounting for 26% of all deaths. But as (heart disease) rates continue to fall, cancer could likely become the leading cause of death worldwide, within just a few decades," said Gilles Dagenais, a professor at Quebec's Laval University in Canada who co-led the work.

 

Of an estimated 55 million deaths in the world in 2017, the researchers said, around 17·7 million were due to cardiovascular disease - a group of conditions that includes heart failure, angina, heart attack and stroke.

 

Around 70% of all cardiovascular cases and deaths are due to modifiable risks such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diet, smoking and other lifestyle factors.

 

In high-income countries, common treatment with cholesterol-lowering statins and blood-pressure medicines have helped bring rates of heart disease down dramatically in the past few decades.

 

Dagenais' team said their findings suggest that the higher rates of heart-disease deaths in low-income countries may be mainly due to a lower quality of healthcare.

 

The research found first hospitalisation rates and heart disease medication use were both substantially lower in poorer and middle-income countries than in wealthy ones.

 

The research was part of the Prospective Urban and Rural Epidemiologic (PURE) study, published in The Lancet and presented at the ESC Congress in Paris.

 

Countries analysed included Argentina, Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, India, Iran, Malaysia, Pakistan, Palestine, Philippines, Poland, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Sweden, Tanzania, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and Zimbabwe.

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-09-04

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[Bluespunk]

13 minutes ago, snoop1130 said:

Cancer has overtaken heart disease as the leading cause of death in wealthy countries and could become the world's biggest killer within just a few decades if current trends persist, researchers said on Tuesday.

 

Hardly surprising, wealthy countries have become much better at dealing with heart disease, something had to take it's position as the number one cause of death.

Edited September 4, 2019 by Bluespunk

[thaibeachlovers]

Given the amount of chemicals in our processed food, which most of us eat, pollution in our air, water, land, and stressful lives is it even a surprise that we are dying of cancer? Perhaps Gaia has found a way to reduce the human population that can't be cured with cheap medication.

[jastheace]

17 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Given the amount of chemicals in our processed food, which most of us eat, pollution in our air, water, land, and stressful lives is it even a surprise that we are dying of cancer? Perhaps Gaia has found a way to reduce the human population that can't be cured with cheap medication.

wow heavy man (neil- the young ones- nigel planar) quoted, but yeah, wow heavy....

food for thought...

lentil soup anyone ?

Edited September 4, 2019 by jastheace
dunno

[sirineou]

1 hour ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Given the amount of chemicals in our processed food, which most of us eat, pollution in our air, water, land, and stressful lives is it even a surprise that we are dying of cancer? Perhaps Gaia has found a way to reduce the human population that can't be cured with cheap medication.

even though what you say sounds good and contain some truth, I have read some place that if we lived long enough we all would get cancer.

So , every time a cell divides there is always a chance that there will be a mutation. , the longer we live, the more division and thus the more  chance for a malignant  mutation.

of course there is no denying that environmental factors such as you mention contribute but if one is to look at the age distribution of cancer deaths.

"Adults aged 25-49 contribute around 5 in 100 (4%) of all cancer deaths, with slightly fewer deaths in males than females in this age group.[1-3] Adults aged 50-74 account for more than 4 in 10 (42%) of all cancer deaths, and elderly people aged 75+ account for more than half (54%), with slightly more deaths in males"  

https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/health-professional/cancer-statistics/mortality/age  

[faraday]

2 hours ago, jastheace said:

wow heavy man (neil- the young ones- nigel planar) quoted, but yeah, wow heavy....

food for thought...

lentil soup anyone ?

Just knitting him a yogurt sweater...

[ChipButty]

Nasty stuff that cancer even in a country like Thailand to get treatment is not cheap 

[thaibeachlovers]

57 minutes ago, sirineou said:

even though what you say sounds good and contain some truth, I have read some place that if we lived long enough we all would get cancer.

So , every time a cell divides there is always a chance that there will be a mutation. , the longer we live, the more division and thus the more  chance for a malignant  mutation.

of course there is no denying that environmental factors such as you mention contribute but if one is to look at the age distribution of cancer deaths.

"Adults aged 25-49 contribute around 5 in 100 (4%) of all cancer deaths, with slightly fewer deaths in males than females in this age group.[1-3] Adults aged 50-74 account for more than 4 in 10 (42%) of all cancer deaths, and elderly people aged 75+ account for more than half (54%), with slightly more deaths in males"  

https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/health-professional/cancer-statistics/mortality/age  

Considering our bodies are not designed to live longer than around 70, and as you say every time a cell divides there is a possible mutation, it's not surprising that over 50% are 75 or older. Considering that that demographic is more a burden on society than a help ( in western countries with fragmented families ) hard questions must be asked. IMO, if not able to pay oneself, society should not have to pay for 70 or over ( and that includes me ) with cancer. The elderly take most of the health budget, obviously.

The Eskimos used to put the too old to work out for a polar bear, but while I don't recommend that for us, a pill and a nice long sleep would be acceptable for those that choose it.

[thaibeachlovers]

26 minutes ago, ChipButty said:

Nasty stuff that cancer even in a country like Thailand to get treatment is not cheap 

I was lucky in that I had my experience in the UK as the NHS paid all. Must have cost a fortune, but I went on to work several years after.

Don't let anyone try and say it's not a life changing situation, and for many not for the better.

[ChipButty]

9 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I was lucky in that I had my experience in the UK as the NHS paid all. Must have cost a fortune, but I went on to work several years after.

Don't let anyone try and say it's not a life changing situation, and for many not for the better.

If there's such a place as a good place to get cancer then it has to be the UK you can get your treatment on the NHS here in Thailand the cost of Chemo can range from 150k to 400k Baht per time then the radio and whatever else you need after medication, thats in the private hospitals bye the way

[justin case]

both causes are partially what you eat, drink, smoke, inject

than there is good old pesticides, herbicides, uncontrolled pollution from everywhere

 

let us not forget STRESSSSSSSSSSSSS

 

add thai small p.enis syndrome and you get killings & road rage

[bristolboy]

4 hours ago, sirineou said:

even though what you say sounds good and contain some truth, I have read some place that if we lived long enough we all would get cancer.

So , every time a cell divides there is always a chance that there will be a mutation. , the longer we live, the more division and thus the more  chance for a malignant  mutation.

of course there is no denying that environmental factors such as you mention contribute but if one is to look at the age distribution of cancer deaths.

"Adults aged 25-49 contribute around 5 in 100 (4%) of all cancer deaths, with slightly fewer deaths in males than females in this age group.[1-3] Adults aged 50-74 account for more than 4 in 10 (42%) of all cancer deaths, and elderly people aged 75+ account for more than half (54%), with slightly more deaths in males"  

https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/health-professional/cancer-statistics/mortality/age  

I think you'd find that death from cardiovasular disease also sharply skews old

[Paradise Pete]

4 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

our bodies are not designed to live longer than around 70

What do you mean by that? How is that determined?

[thaibeachlovers]

2 minutes ago, Paradise Pete said:

What do you mean by that? How is that determined?

Just look at loads of people younger than 70 and loads older. Self explanatory. Don't bother telling me about all the fit 80 year olds you know, as there is always the exception.

[JamesBlond]

Cancer is nature's method of planned obsolescence and illness is part of the human condition. Leave it be. Cure it all and life will become worthless.

Yes, if I get cancer myself I will leave it be.

[thaibeachlovers]

3 minutes ago, JamesBlond said:

Cancer is nature's method of planned obsolescence and illness is part of the human condition. Leave it be. Cure it all and life will become worthless.

Yes, if I get cancer myself I will leave it be.

Wish I'd let mine be. Just gone out and enjoyed life till I couldn't. They never tell you how bad the complications of treatment really are, and I'm no where near as bad as I might have been.

[ChipButty]

6 minutes ago, JamesBlond said:

Cancer is nature's method of planned obsolescence and illness is part of the human condition. Leave it be. Cure it all and life will become worthless.

Yes, if I get cancer myself I will leave it be.

I think you are right, you wouldn't want your worst enemy to go through that chemotherapy 

[JamesBlond]

I'm not against all medical intervention but I think we should leave one big disease untreated, if only to teach us humility, forbearance, fortitude and all manner of other noble mental qualities.

[wgdanson]

6 hours ago, sirineou said:

even though what you say sounds good and contain some truth, I have read some place that if we lived long enough we all would get cancer.

And then die when our heart stops.

[wgdanson]

1 hour ago, Paradise Pete said:

What do you mean by that? How is that determined?

It says in The Bible, three score and ten. And the Bible is the truth !   Unless you are a Muslim, Jew, Buddhist, Siekh, Rastafarian.  LOL

 

Note the LOL mr Beach Lover, there is no sarcasm emoti.

Edited September 5, 2019 by wgdanson

[wgdanson]

5 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Considering our bodies are not designed to live longer than around 70, and as you say every time a cell divides there is a possible mutation, it's not surprising that over 50% are 75 or older. Considering that that demographic is more a burden on society than a help ( in western countries with fragmented families ) hard questions must be asked. IMO, if not able to pay oneself, society should not have to pay for 70 or over ( and that includes me ) with cancer. The elderly take most of the health budget, obviously.

The Eskimos used to put the too old to work out for a polar bear, but while I don't recommend that for us, a pill and a nice long sleep would be acceptable for those that choose it.

Don't talk silly, there are no Polar bears in Thailand. Plus a nice Single Malt to go with that pill.

[thaibeachlovers]

18 minutes ago, JamesBlond said:

I'm not against all medical intervention but I think we should leave one big disease untreated, if only to teach us humility, forbearance, fortitude and all manner of other noble mental qualities.

Be careful what you wish for. Decades of antibiotic abuse has brought us to the verge of having no effective antibiotics. Then overpopulation will be eliminated quite quickly as we live so close together disease will spread rapidly. Look at Ebola in The Congo for an idea of what it will be like, but a million times worse.

[moonseeker]

5 hours ago, ChipButty said:

If there's such a place as a good place to get cancer then it has to be the UK you can get your treatment on the NHS here in Thailand the cost of Chemo can range from 150k to 400k Baht per time then the radio and whatever else you need after medication, thats in the private hospitals bye the way

Easily up to 1 Mio per month, if doing combo immune therapy or targeted therapy. And you might be on it continuously up to reoccurring disease or toxicity. Don't neglect sidecost. Better have very good insurance. 

MS>

Edited September 5, 2019 by moonseeker