But the deeper data may well suggest that it is not a generational variable at play. Across all age groups, for example, kidney and prostate cancer diagnoses / rates are rising (could be better detection, in part). Here's the NPR take on it all, and a bit:
. . .The increases for Generation X over Baby Boomers appeared in all racial and ethnic groups except Asian or Pacific Islander men, who were less likely to be diagnosed with cancer at age 60 if they were Gen-Xers than Baby Boomers.
Douglas Corley, chief research officer for the Permanente Medical Group and a Kaiser gastroenterologist in San Francisco, sees generational divisions for cancer trends as “somewhat artificial,” he said in an email.
Over the past century, for example, the incidence of kidney cancer has increased steadily in young Americans. “So it is not that being part of a particular more recent generation puts you at risk,” he said. “It is not that one generation was necessarily exposed to something that others born one generation earlier were not. It is a year-by-year change. . . .”
“It is absolutely essential to invest in cancer-prevention research,” she said.
Corley also pointed to obesity, increasingly sedentary lifestyles and early cancer detection as part of the picture too.
He also said it’s worth noting that the new study does not examine cancer death rates. For most cancers, earlier detection and better treatment have improved survival, Corley said. . . .
Now you know, but do go read it all -- for the more nuanced take-aways. Smiling, into a cooler sunshine (as we wait to see whether Martin Shkreli makes a Supremes filing by tomorrow night -- or defaults out, on his lifetime ban).
नमस्ते
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