How Many People Are Going to Get Cancer?

Every year there are millions of people including men, women, and children who are diagnosed with cancer but getting an idea of how many people will get cancer depends on the cancer type and other factors including age, race, gender, and genetics. According to a 2009 report from the American Cancer Society close to 2 million new cases were expected to be diagnosed during 2009. Different cancers have different risks and probabilities associated so gaining an understanding of estimated numbers for risk outcomes can help you understand that type of cancer better.

Usually the probability and estimated the number of people who will get cancer involves studying groups of people including their behaviors and characteristics. There are different risks which are defined by cause and probability of people. For instance an absolute risk is a numeric probability of developing a specific cancer during a certain time period such as by age 70 or age 50 or within 5 years.

There is also a lifetime risk with certain cancers such as prostate cancer followed by a percentage out of every 100 men. A life time risk doesn't mean a person will develop cancer but it helps to put the risk into another perspective as to how it affects men and women in that category. A relative risk shows the relationship between the risk factor and the type cancer such as risk of developing lung cancer from the act of smoking. Usually the numbers are compared by age group and gender.

Cancer researchers have identified many hazards within our environment that are carcinogens or cancer causing elements such as the sun toward skin cancer and smoking towards lung cancer. Observing human behavior is a big part in cancer studies that involves keeping track of large groups for many years. This allows scientist to not only study characteristics and behaviors but compare their findings to learn how and why people get sick and those who don't.

Learning about different cancer risks and probabilities is often confusing because it doesn't tell you exactly what your own risk it but it gives you an idea based on the gender and age group you belong in. in some cases it may not apply to you but there are sources such as family members and your personal physician to utilized if you want to gain a personal understanding of developing cancer especially if there is a chance of cancer being hereditary.

Anytime you hear about statistics for a type of cancer it helps to put it into perspective to help gain a better understanding. Look into who was being observed for the study and how many people were involved. Usually studies are done for a certain period of time so it helps to learn of other studies that have been done that have produced similar results. Different cancers often have different risks and some have higher risks than others meaning more people are likely to be diagnosed. If you have concerns of your own seek more information.