Why Are More Young People Being Diagnosed with Cancer?

January 17, 2025

A person in a hospital gown

(The Walrus) – Better screening is only a small piece of the puzzle

A 2022 study found that, in addition to people having more Westernized diets over the past three decades, today’s adults were exposed to other risk factors—such as environmental hazards and more sedentary lifestyles—at younger ages compared to the generations before them. Researchers, including Brenner, believe that may be why cancer has started to show up earlier in patients’ lives now when compared to the 1970s and ’80s. And while more screening does play a role—the authors acknowledged that enhanced testing could explain some of the diagnoses—it doesn’t account for the spike in cases we’ve seen in recent years. (Read More)