The percentage of people with cancer is projected to rise 45 percentage points within the two decades that are coming raising the number to 2.3 million. This is an increase from the 1.6 million cases that is projected for the year 2010. American researchers on Wednesday disclosed that the disease is further expected to affect older adults as well as minorities.
With the use of demographic data, University of Texas researchers have made a projection that there will be a 67 percent rise in the amount of adults above 65 years found to have cancer by 2030. The approximate number will be 1.6 million in 2030 which is a rise from a number of 1 million in the year 2010. It is also expected that there will be a two fold increase in the amount of non-Caucasians that are found to have cancer. The number of cases will rise to 660,000 up from 330,000.
The statistics have it that the percentage of people with cancer will stay almost the same. In an interview over the phone with University Managing Director Dr Smith, he says that the population trends are likely to affect the rates of new cancer diagnoses.
It has been foreseen that in the year 2030, about 70 percent of all the cancer cases will be discovered in senior citizens and a further 28 percent will be found within minority communities. The number of elderly patients found to have cancer will be equal to those found to have cancer in the year 2010, he added. Smith says that the figures and varieties of cancers that are projected to increase include stomach, pancreas and liver which are very dangerous.
At present time there are not enough health care facilities to handle the expected increase in the percentage of people with cancer. Smith, whose research can be found in the Clinical Oncology Journal added in a phone interview.
He pointed out information from the Clinical Oncology society of America which states that 40 percent of the cancer specialist within America are the age of 55 or older and most of them are expected to retire within the coming decade. The number of new cancer specialists is hardly enough to keep up with the retirement rate says Smith who added that by the year 2030 the shortfall in cancer specialists will be 3800, which is reason to be concerned.
Changes in The Cancer Disease
During the research on the topic of “percentage of people with cancer”, Smith along with his colleagues made use of cancer rates and statistics from the United States Census Bureau. This data helped the team to analyze the way a population change would affect the people who get cancer.
He noted a major change in recent cancer cases reported in senior adults as well as minority communities. These two segments were expected to grow quite fast. The senior adults as well as the minority communities who make up the cancer patients are likely to be subjected to below par-medical treatment Smith added.
He said that the minority communities have a higher likelihood of being diagnosed during later stages and the rate of death especially for African Americans is high in comparison to the Caucasian population.
With this data, Smith said that prevention and screening procedures have become much more vital when dealing with this disease. The only disease that tops cancer is heart disease. The percentage of people with cancer is significantly high and it remains the second highest killer of Americans with close to 560,000 fatalities have been attributed to it.