Irish Cancer Society: 1 in 2?!

Jurgen Klopp · 04-01-2017 6:56pm #1

According to the Irish Cancer society by 2020 1 in 2 will get cancer during their lifetime.

Seriously it can't be that high? Is it numbers being exaggerated for donations?

If not then surely that means there needs to be SERIOUS investigations into what's going into foods and water along with other environmental factors such as pesticides and other things?

It was only a few years ago it was 1 in 4, then 1 in 3

I cannot believe that every second person has had cancer if they try and claim it was always that but now we detect it better

the beer revolu · 04-01-2017 6:59pm

People are living longer.
Cancer gets a lot of people in the end.

TPD · 04-01-2017 6:59pm

Isn't it just a mix of better detection and longer lifespans leading to more people getting it?

suicide_circus · 04-01-2017 7:05pm

The Irish Cancer Society dont seem to be doing a great job. Cut their funding.

TerrorFirmer · 04-01-2017 7:33pm

Exactly, better detection and longer lifespans. If we lived long enough, literally everyone would get cancer. Don't forget a lot of those cancers are typically non-aggressive - eg, Prostate cancer in men is extremely common, yet even without a diagnosis of the condition for many years many elderly will die of natural causes/old age long before the cancer would claim them. Your odds now of surviving cancer are better than ever.

oneilla · 04-01-2017 7:40pm

This "I want to get cancer" ads that were running on TV over the weekend were weird and maybe a touch insensitive.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4qKKlagvpk

04-01-2017 7:42pm

Jurgen Klopp wrote: »

According to the Irish Cancer society by 2020 1 in 2 will get cancer during their lifetime.

It was only a few years ago it was 1 in 4, then 1 in 3

I cannot believe that every second person has had cancer if they try and claim it was always that but now we detect it better

The conspiracy theorists would love this one. I thankfully don't know of or never have had any close to me getting cancer assuming I know we'll say 100 people very well (family, close friends, colleagues, neighbours etc) that statistic doesn't resonate with me. Perhaps I just haven't heard of these people getting cancer but thankfully I do not know of anyone who has died of cancer or to the best of my knowledge had cancer.

Maybe it is the case that the list of cancers has expanded or that cancers previously undiagnosed are now picked up on?

I would hate to think anyone would fabricate a statistic for donations, so I'm assuming that's not what this is. Although with smoking statistics smoking can sometimes be a correlation as opposed to causation i.e I might be a smoker who has heart disease (genetically) - so when they say 1 in 2 smokers will die of a "smoking related disease" it is not necessarily a disease that was caused by their smoking... but because they were a smoker they are thrown into the statistics which I find a bit unethical. Not sure if same applies here though

NIMAN · 04-01-2017 7:45pm

I always thought 1 in 2 sounded high.

In my family and extended circle of uncles, aunts, cousins, siblings etc, which I'd say number maybe around 50, 2 have died of cancer and none of the rest have ever had it.

and we are talking about ages from 36 - 75 here, good chance of people catching it over their lives.

If we got off so lightly, some other families must be getting hit hard.

RobertKK · 04-01-2017 7:53pm

It use to be 1 in 3, but they now want people to 'get cancer', so maybe they think they can reach their target of 1 in 2...

J Mysterio · 04-01-2017 7:58pm

Its a really stupid fuxking campaign. Whiever thought that was a good idea should be slapped and then fired.

Del.Monte · 04-01-2017 8:02pm

The Irish Cancer Society is part of the self-perpetuating cancer industry - God only knows what they will do if a cure is discovered. :rolleyes:

ChikiChiki · 04-01-2017 8:05pm

I've lost members on both sides of the family to cancer. Heard of an 8 week old baby a few weeks back who got it. 1 in 2 is a ridiculously high figure imo.

04-01-2017 8:11pm

So I just looked up this campaign. I was a bit thrown though articles seem to differ..

..the campaign aims to raise awareness among those who will get cancer now to start thinking about getting checked – and increasing their chances of surviving.

http://www.thejournal.ie/i-want-to-get-cancer-3169805-Jan2017/?utm_source=shortlink

I'm not personally seeing that message in the campaign - all I heard in the video was a call to action to support the organisation:

"So volunteer or donate to the Irish Cancer Society"

CathyMoran · 04-01-2017 8:26pm

I was diagnosed with cancer when I was 32 and am a 10 year survivor at this stage. I live with the consequences of chemo and then having my esophagus removed but I am still here but it was an incredibly tough and painful battle, though it was worse for my spouse.

Personally I did not like the TV adds but I got great help from the Irish Cancer Society so would always donate when I see a campaign from them.

BrianD3 · 04-01-2017 8:32pm

The 1 in 2 might include non melanoma skin cancers which are very common and sometimes excluded from statistics as the cure rate is so high. In Ireland there are around 8000 new cases per year and around 50 deaths. The number of new cases is much higher than that for any other individual cancer site.

Grayson · 04-01-2017 8:35pm

The older you get the higher the chance you'll get cancer at that particular age. A 70 year old has a greater chance of getting it than a 20 year old.

Detection and prevention is getting better. So we have a lower % of people in every age group getting it. There are less 20 year olds with it now than 50 years ago. However there's far more 70 year olds getting it. That's because there's far more 70 year olds in general.

Years ago the chances were that you'd die of something else before you got old enough to get cancer.

So the 1/2 projection is probably based on the number of old people there will be.

Jurgen Klopp · 04-01-2017 8:36pm

I was looking there the 1 in 2 seems to be taken from UK claims

But various US claims from 2010-2012 research claim 39.7% of people will get it compared to 50% from this UK and Irish numbers

Fratton Fred · 04-01-2017 8:45pm

Cancer is a ****. A **** of the highest order.

I lost a friend and a relative last year, within a week of each other.

I don't care if the campaign is shocking/outrageous/offensive, if it helps just a tiny bit, it is worth it.

_Jamie_ · 04-01-2017 8:47pm

oneilla wrote: »

This "I want to get cancer" ads that were running on TV over the weekend were weird and maybe a touch insensitive.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4qKKlagvpk

As someone living with cancer, yes those ads are a misstep. I imagine mystifying to people without cancer and even more perplexing to people with cancer because we know how gruelling it is!

The Raptor · 04-01-2017 9:00pm

I had a funny looking spot a few weeks ago. The first doctor I saw said it was a skin tag. I knew it wasn't. That scared me the most, he hadn't a clue. But happy to wait. I went elsewhere to get it removed, got my results last week, it was a type of wart which often looks like some kind of skin cancer. I was so scared with seeing that spot and I didn't use google to tell me I had a cancer looking thing. I had the fear of cancer put into me a few years ago. Went to the doctor over something, I don't remember what but he had one look at my skin and he was very alarmed with the amount of moles I had. So I informed myself on what to look for. Ever since then I look after my skin and no more getting burnt.

wakka12 · 04-01-2017 10:16pm

Overly dramatic headline. Cancer rates are dropping if anything, its just because people are living so long now that theyre not usually killed off by anything other than cancer in the end, cancer will usually be what kills somebody if they don't die of another disease before it. And seeing as most diseases are now curable this is the outcome. Nothing to go worrying about

NIMAN · 04-01-2017 10:20pm

The stats given to us in the adverts would suggest cancer is getting more common?

The Raptor · 04-01-2017 10:26pm

This is off topic but is it a good idea for someone have health insurance if they were to get cancer?

SCOOP 64 · 04-01-2017 10:30pm

The Raptor wrote: »

This is off topic but is it a good idea for someone have health insurance if they were to get cancer?

what, a better chance of survival ?

J Mysterio · 04-01-2017 10:43pm

The Raptor wrote: »

This is off topic but is it a good idea for someone have health insurance if they were to get cancer?

Its great if you have insurance before you get it, and it will greatly increase your chances of getting through it.

However, if you want to get Insurance after you have cancer it will be very difficult. Also, If you attempt to get insurance without disclosing your condition, and the Insurer can prove it, you will lose your cover, be liable for costs, and could be sued.

The Raptor · 04-01-2017 10:45pm

J Mysterio wrote: »

Its great if you have insurance before you get it, and it will greatly increase your chances of getting through it.

However, if you want to get Insurance after you have cancer it will be very difficult. Also, If you attempt to get insurance without disclosing your condition, and the Insurer can prove it, you will lose your cover, be liable for costs, and could be sued.

I need the cheapest option just in case. That damn spot I had, it put the fear into me.

Crea · 04-01-2017 10:55pm

People are living longer so pretty much the older you get the more likely a heart attack, stroke or cancer will get you.
You have to die of something.

DukeOfTheSharp · 04-01-2017 11:09pm

Age plays a huge factor: I lost two family members two years in a row due to cancer, one in their sixties and one in their late seventies. However, I've a friend who's only two years my senior who got brain cancer two years ago, had the massive (and I mean MASSIVE) tumor removed, got chemo, and beat it. I mean, they said he was stage 3 terminal, and managed to pull through, so the idea that one in two people could potentially have cancer by 2020 isn't as far-fetched as it sounds, between the elderly getting cancer and detection methods getting better. The ad was a little misleading though, it should have made it clear that detection was how people would 'have' cancer, and tried to make it much clearer that it was age/genetics and so on that made it more likely. This is an incredibly complex topic that can't be communicated through a single advertisement.

Larbre34 · 04-01-2017 11:23pm

I think the complexity of cancer is precisely the reason this ICS campaign was so ill-judged. Having an umbrella term like cancer is almost misleading in itself to the uninitiated.

ICS shouldnt be scaring folk and shouldnt be using that 1 in 2 statistic so liberally without the caveat that 65% or so of the elderly have some form of cancer in their bodies by the time they pass away, albeit progressing very slowly due to systemic old age.

ICS say they "want to provoke a conversation" about cancer in Ireland,but frankly this campaign would be more suited to AIDS in about 1983 than cancer, which is actually very widely discussed and supported in Ireland. There is no need to be provocative, simply reinforce the positive message that survival rates in Ireland are among the best and that optimising lifestyle can reduce cancer risk to in the first place.

Not a good day for ICS, time to scrap this and move on well in time for Daffodil Day I would suggest.

renmorenewbie · 04-01-2017 11:34pm

The current figures are 1 in 3.

I had treatment surgery and chemo for breast cancer on both sides age 40. The current rate for breast cancer is 1 in 9. I'm grateful to be alive but psychological and physical scars will be forever. I have health insurance but would not be able to change to another provider as there are higher chances of other issues just from treatment Alone.

I believe the numbers.
The oncology department was very busy and long queues in clinics. The oncology department seemed as busy as maternity.

Both my parents died of cancer in their 60s unrelated cancers.
6 adults of 4 neighbours houses in a row on our road got cancer! So yes some families and areas help make up the stats.

The professionals I have spoken to are expecting next wave of cancers to be brain head neck...due to alcohol.

Per WHO IARC publication "There is sufficient evidence in humans for the
carcinogenicity of alcohol consumption. Alcohol
consumption causes cancers of the oral cavity,
pharynx, larynx, oesophagus, colorectum, liver
(hepatocellular carcinoma) and female breast."

But I don't think it makes for popular reading or listening and people don't want to hear it so it's not used in the campaigns

scdublin · 05-01-2017 6:32pm

CathyMoran wrote: »

I was diagnosed with cancer when I was 32 and am a 10 year survivor at this stage. I live with the consequences of chemo and then having my esophagus removed but I am still here but it was an incredibly tough and painful battle, though it was worse for my spouse.

Hope you don't mind me asking, what exactly are the consequences of chemo? I currently know 3 people going through it at the moment, all diagnosed within the last year. Before that I was lucky enough to not have had anyone very close to me get it.

Irish Cancer Society: 1 in 2?!

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