Most Common Cancers: Are You at Risk?
New cancer-cases and higher percentages of cancer-related deaths are reported each year. Cancer is known to be the leading cause of death in North America since 2005. Percentages show that between 40-50% of the North American population will develop some form of cancer in their lifetime, and that 1 out of 4 of these cases will lead to death.
The most common forms of cancer in women are breast, lung, colon, and rectum. Men are at high risk for prostate cancer, as well as lung, colon, and rectum. These types of cancer account for 53% of all cases, whereas non-hodgkin and hodgkin lymphomas, bladder, melanoma, kidney, leukemia, thyroid, uterus, pancreas, oral, stomach, brain, ovary, multiple myeloma, liver, esophagus, larynx, testis, and others make up the other 47%.
Those aged 40 and older are at a higher risk of developing cancer. While one cannot control their age, there are other cancer risk factors that can be controlled or avoided, such as smoking, being overweight, low intake of fruits and vegetables, lack of physical activity, and alcohol use.
