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Cancer rates are rising in young people

scientificamerican.com

101–110 of 162 posts

Re: Cancer rates are rising in young people

#101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A tax is a disincentive, not a restriction of freedom. As in, if you want that sugar, you will pay extra for it due to the increased strain on the healthcare system you likely will add to down the line. You can still consume as much as you want at the end of the day.

If it turns out that there is no increased strain on the healthcare system (because, for example, people who consume a lot of sugar die younger and so don't require as much old-age care), would you then advocate removing the disincentive?

Young people dying early puts huge strains on other parts of the system so this argument doesn’t work.

Re: Cancer rates are rising in young people

#102
post #81

Might make sense to net zero tax sugar (and hand consumers the taxes at the end of the year). Obesity is the main correlate according to most of these studies.

I would probably tax the producers of foods with sugar in them. It would encourage reduction of sugar content in everything while increasing the price of purely sugar filled stuff like candy and ice cream. But you would probably be better off just subsidizing healthier options rather than taxing the unhealthy ones. Or just removing subsidies for sugar and corn.

At minimum there should be mandated warning labels like on cigarette packs. The contribution of sugar to inflammation, obesity, and cancer cell growth is well-established.

Re: Cancer rates are rising in young people

#104
Beware of the conflict of interest of both authors.

One is "chief executive officer of the American Cancer Society and the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN)."

The other is "chief executive officer of Color Health, a health care technology company and partner of the American Cancer Society that helps employers, labor unions and public health institutions take action against cancer through preventive health and disease management programs."

Re: Cancer rates are rising in young people

#105

Ultra-processed foods is the new tabacco or even worse. I wonder how long until we start to see the warnings on each package like on cigarettes.

Most are probably unaware of it, but so far the only presidential candidate that puts health as a core campaign issue is RFK, whatever you might think of him https://www.kennedy24.com/end-chronic-disease.

Re: Cancer rates are rising in young people

#106
My "TOE" for cancer (and other chronic diseases):

- stress

- environmental pollutants

- empty calories + nutritional deficiencies (aka "high-calorie malnutrition")

- excessive hygiene and underexposure to pathogens particularly during childhood (even cesarian birth contributes to gut dysbiosis)

- overreliance on pharmaceutical drugs that do more harm than good

All in all a gross misunderstanding of what constitutes health and how the human body works.

For those so inclined, check out Dr. Thomas Seyfried's work on cancer as a metabolic disease: https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/schools/morrissey/departments/biol...

Re: Cancer rates are rising in young people

#107
post #70

I went thru very aggressive cancer treatment a few years ago (am a woman in my late thirties) for a type that was def not lifestyle caused nor hereditary. So far so good. I have received great care but no one has given me so much as a hypothesis as to what caused it. The type I had is rising amongst women under 50. If I had to hypothesize, stress and trauma are large contributors. I don't think by any means that prev…

Why does there have to be a hypothesis? Why can't it just be random? I understand the need to identify a reason, but randomness exists and there's a good chance that had more of a role in it than anything else.

Sure, it can be. But that's about as disempowering a thought as you can have if you need to try to live life as a cancer survivor. If you have any inkling that something may have contributed to its cause then you potentially have agency to help prevent it from recurring.

Re: Cancer rates are rising in young people

#108
post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

if I can ask what kind of stress was it? Because most stress comes from lifestyle

I assume they're talking about the doomscrolling / social media / letting the world dictate your emotions kind of stress.

No, I am talking about the high-stress job and abusive partner kind of stress.

Re: Cancer rates are rising in young people

#109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

if I can ask what kind of stress was it? Because most stress comes from lifestyle

That is true if you can afford to isolate yourself from the rest of the world. Otherwise, social interactions are a source of stress over which you don’t have much control even if you give up on social media. Or the way society works in general. Or the state of politics. Or the environment. “It’s your lifestyle” is an easy answer that is far from complete. It is also a common way of blaming the victim. It is very dif…

You can do a great deal. I have changed my life completely. We underestimate our power over our circumstances.

Re: Cancer rates are rising in young people

#110
post #70

I went thru very aggressive cancer treatment a few years ago (am a woman in my late thirties) for a type that was def not lifestyle caused nor hereditary. So far so good. I have received great care but no one has given me so much as a hypothesis as to what caused it. The type I had is rising amongst women under 50. If I had to hypothesize, stress and trauma are large contributors. I don't think by any means that prev…

if I can ask what kind of stress was it? Because most stress comes from lifestyle

I addressed this in the comment below and sure, stress comes from lifestyle. By lifestyle I'm referring more directly to diet, choosing not to smoke/do drugs, exercise, etc. I was a lifelong athlete, non smoker, healthy eater.
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