It seems like not a day goes by that we don’t hear of an American who has suffered early colon cancer.
Cases of the condition in the US have increased by 15 percent over the past decade, which is said to be due to increasingly unhealthy lifestyles that affect the gut.
However, new data that exposes the true toll of different types of cancer on Americans shows that the number affected by the disease remains surprisingly low.
In fact, only eight percent of all cancer cases in the U.S. are colorectal, according to the extensive new cancer diagnosis report by USAFacts, a Washington-based nonprofit organization.
What’s more, studies show that only about four percent of all men and women in the U.S. will develop colon cancer during their lifetime.
The most common types in younger people are breast (15 percent), thyroid (15 percent), testicular (eight percent) and skin melanoma (seven percent) cancers. The remaining 55 percent is attributed to other types of cancer, including colorectal cancer, also known as bowel cancer.
According to CDC data, new cancer cases increased nearly 36.5 percent between 2000 and 2019. However, the age-adjusted incidence rate per 100,000 people fell slightly, from 485.8 to 459.5, which represents a decrease of 5.4 percent.
Revealing new analysis lays bare the scope of America’s cancer crisis: Annual diagnoses found to have increased by 37 percent since 2019.
The data also details the likelihood of a person developing each type of disease, depending on a number of factors such as sex, age and socioeconomic background.
USAFacts used the latest official data to reveal that four types of cancer accounted for half of the 1.96 million new cancer cases in 2023: breast cancer (15 percent), prostate cancer (15 percent), lung and bronchi (12 percent), colorectal cancer. (eight percent).
The other 50 percent were all the other guys. The same cancers, plus pancreatic cancer, accounted for almost half of the more than 609,820 cancer deaths in 2023. Almost half of the deaths were due to lung and bronchial cancer (21 percent).
Colorectal cancer accounted for nine percent of deaths, pancreatic cancer for eight percent of deaths, and breast cancer for seven percent. The remaining 55 percent of deaths were due to other cancers.
Cancer rates vary by gender and men have always been more likely to be diagnosed with cancer and die from the disease.
Greater weight, greater inactivity, and greater alcohol consumption among men are believed to be some of the reasons for the disparity.
Four types of cancer accounted for half of the 1.96 million new cancer cases in 2023: breast cancer (15 percent), prostate cancer (15 percent), lung and bronchial cancer (12 percent), colorectal cancer (eight percent).
In 2019, men were about 15 percent more likely to be diagnosed with cancer and 38 percent more likely to die from the disease than women.
The gap has narrowed since 2000, when men were 37 percent more likely to be diagnosed.
Prostate, lung and colorectal cancers are the most common cancers among men, and were responsible for more than half of new cancer cases and 46 percent of cancer deaths in 2023 among men.
For women, the most common cancers are estimated to be breast, lung and colorectal, which accounted for 55 percent of new cancer cases and half of cancer deaths in 2023.
According to the American Cancer SocietyProstate cancer will account for approximately 29 percent of cancer cases in men, followed by lung and bronchial cancer with 11 percent of cases.
Colorectal cancers are expected to account for eight percent of new cancer cases in men.
For women, 32 percent of new cancer cases are expected to be breast cancer, followed by lung and bronchial cancer (12 percent) and colorectal cancer (seven percent).
Age is the most indicative of cancer risk factors, according to the USAFacts report.
The older you are, the more likely you are to be diagnosed with cancer.
The average age of cancer diagnosis is 66 years and the average age of death is 72 years.
But patients can be diagnosed at any age; Stories of young people with colorectal cancer have been especially common in recent years, but there are four other types that most frequently affect people under 40 years of age.
Cancers diagnosed in people under 50 have increased nearly 80 percent since 1990, according to a 2023 study.
In 2019, there were 3.26 million new cancer diagnoses among those under 50, an increase of 79.1 percent since 1990.
The older a person is, the more likely they are to be diagnosed with cancer
Kate Middleton, 42, was diagnosed with cancer after abdominal surgery earlier this year.
One shocking high-profile patient is Princess Kate Middleton, 42, who earlier this year announced that she had been diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer.
Experts have pointed out lifestyle factors such as poor diet, obesity, alcohol and tobacco consumption, and physical inactivity as possible causes.
While colorectal cancer is estimated to account for 7.6 percent of all cancer cases this year, the most common types among younger people are breast (15 percent), thyroid (15 percent) , testicle (eight percent) and skin melanoma (seven percent). percent).
The remaining 55 percent in young people is attributed to other types of cancer, including colorectal cancer, also known as bowel cancer.
Cancer rates also vary by ethnicity. Non-Hispanic white Americans have had the highest rates of new cancer diagnoses, followed by non-Hispanic black Americans, according to the report.
However, non-Hispanic black Americans have the highest risk of death from cancer. More black men than white men have said they smoke, the CDC said, and non-Hispanic black Americans are more likely than other groups to be exposed to secondhand smoke.
Obesity is also prevalent among non-Hispanic black adults.
In 2019, men (blue line) were about 15 percent more likely to be diagnosed with cancer and 38 percent more likely to die from the disease than women (pink line). The gap has narrowed since 2000, when men were 37 percent more likely to be diagnosed.
Cancer rates have decreased between 2000 and 2019 for all ethnic groups except American Indians and Alaska Natives, who experienced a nearly 35 percent increase in diagnoses.
Non-Hispanic Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders have the lowest risk of cancer diagnosis and death.
Cancer rates have decreased between 2000 and 2019 for all ethnic groups except American Indians and Alaska Natives, who experienced a nearly 35 percent increase in diagnoses.
Cancer incidence rates measure the number of newly diagnosed cases in a given population at a specific time, while annual cases are the number of people with the disease at any time during a year.
Incidence rates are useful in determining the burden of cancer within a given population compared to another population, regardless of size.
And although both overall cancer incidence and death rates are declining in the United States, experts have warned that people should not become complacent.
‘According to 2024 data from the American Cancer Society, the incidence of six of the most common cancers (namely those related to excess body weight, such as endometrium, liver, kidney, pancreas, colorectal, and breast) is increasing and may mitigate the mortality rate will decrease in the future,” said Dr. Brett Osborn, a Florida neurologist and longevity expert. Fox News.