Not only are more young people being diagnosed with breast and colorectal cancer, but the diseases are leading to more deaths. Here’s what you can actually do about it.
Cancer rates are climbing among people in their 20s, 30s and early 40s. But while researchers are still working to better understand what could be driving the perplexing rise, experts say there are steps young people can take to help lower their risk.
“Historically, cancer’s been bad luck, bad genetics,” said Arif Kamal, chief patient officer for the American Cancer Society. “It’s this thing that sneaks up on you when you’re not looking for it, and it affects your life in a way that you couldn’t do anything about.”
A growing body of research, however, has examined how lifestyle choices and environmental exposures contribute to the disease. Those factors, unlike genetics, can be controlled to some degree.
“What we’re trying to do is build the healthy habits to keep trouble away over time, and you can do that now to invest in a future with less cancer in it,” Kamal said. “The only way we’re going to continue to bend the curve of the number of people getting diagnosed with cancer is really going to be changing how we live in our 20s and 30s.”
Here’s what Kamal and other experts say you can do about the cancers that are rising fastest among younger people, including breast and colorectal cancer.
Read full story: As cancer rises among young adults, experts explain how to lower risk (WaPo)