(NaturalHealth365) Conventional wisdom would have us believe that cancer is ‘an older person’s disease.’  Well, that notion is clearly incorrect, especially these days.

A shocking new study published in The Lancet Public Health has uncovered a troubling reality that no one wants to admit: young adults are increasingly falling victim to cancer at rates that would have been unthinkable just a generation ago.  The numbers are so alarming that researchers themselves seem stunned by their findings.

The frightening numbers no one is paying attention to

The research team, led by Hyuna Sung, PhD, from the American Cancer Society, dug through mountains of data covering more than 23 million cancer patients and 7 million cancer deaths between 2000 and 2019.  What they unearthed should make every millennial and Gen Z’er sit up and take notice.

For 17 out of 34 cancer types studied, younger people are getting hit harder than their parents or grandparents ever did.  The numbers don’t lie – and they’re downright terrifying.

Take small intestine cancer.  If you were born in 1990, you’re facing a risk that’s 3.56 times higher than someone born in 1955.  Kidney cancer?  Nearly three times higher.  Pancreatic cancer?  More than double the risk.  These aren’t minor increases – they represent a fundamental shift in who’s getting these deadly diseases.

And the researchers were thorough.  They extracted data for 23,654,000 patients diagnosed with 34 types of cancer and analyzed 7,348,137 deaths from 25 cancers for the period, using records from the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries and the US National Center for Health Statistics.  This wasn’t a small sample but a comprehensive look at cancer’s impact across generations.

Cancer’s comeback tour

And if you thought those cancers that used to be declining were still on the way out, think again.  Nine cancer types that were becoming less common in older generations are now surging back with a vengeance in younger birth cohorts.

The list reads like a who’s who of dreaded diagnoses:

• Breast cancer (the estrogen-receptor-positive kind)
• Uterine corpus cancer
• Colorectal cancer
• Non-cardia gastric cancer
• Gallbladder and biliary cancer
• Ovarian cancer
• Testicular cancer
• Anal cancer in males
• Kaposi sarcoma in males

The worst offender?  Uterine corpus cancer, where incidence rates in the 1990 birth cohort were a staggering 169% higher than in the birth cohort with the lowest rate.  That’s not a typo – we’re talking more than double the risk your grandparents faced.

“We don’t know why” – The scientific community’s unsettling admission

“Birth cohorts, groups of people classified by their birth year, share unique social, economic, political, and climate environments, which affect their exposure to cancer risk factors during their crucial developmental years,” explains Sung.  But here’s the kicker: “Although we have identified cancer trends associated with birth years, we don’t yet have a clear explanation for why these rates are rising.”

In other words, something in our modern environment is causing cancer rates to skyrocket in younger generations, but the scientific community hasn’t pinpointed exactly what that something is.  Is it the food we eat?  The chemicals we’re exposed to?  The increasingly sedentary lifestyles?  The rising obesity rates?  All of the above?  Nobody knows for sure.

But, many holistic healthcare providers are questioning the introduction of the COVID shots and the sheer volume of other toxins that we’re all being exposed to, on a daily basis.

When survival rates don’t tell the whole story

While some tout improving survival rates as evidence of progress against cancer, the mortality data from this study tells a more complex story.  For some cancers, like liver and intrahepatic bile duct cancer in females, uterine corpus, gallbladder and biliary, testicular, and colorectal cancers, death rates are climbing alongside diagnosis rates in younger birth cohorts.

Ahmedin Jemal, a senior author of the study, doesn’t mince words about what this means: “The increase in cancer rates among this younger group of people indicates generational shifts in cancer risk and often serves as an early indicator of future cancer burden in the country.  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.”

What you can do now

Given these frightening trends, taking steps to reduce cancer risk is essential.  While the medical establishment scrambles to catch up, individuals need to take matters into their own hands:

1. Eliminate processed foods: Choose organic, whole foods, as much as possible
2. Reduce alcohol consumption: Alcohol is a known carcinogen linked to multiple cancer types
3. Increase physical activity: A sedentary lifestyle is linked to increased cancer risk
4. Avoid tobacco products: If you smoke, stop.  If you don’t, don’t start.
5. Monitor your health: Get yourself a qualified, holistic healthcare provider and don’t ignore unusual symptoms

No doubt, with cancer rates climbing despite decades of such advice, many are questioning whether conventional approaches are enough.  As young adults continue facing rising cancer rates, resources like Jonathan Landsman’s Stop Cancer Docu-Class are offering alternative perspectives from experts outside the mainstream medical system.

The message is clear: cancer isn’t waiting for you to get old anymore.  The time to take action is now.

Sources for this article include:

Thelancet.com
Thehill.com