Nearly half of Canadians to develop cancer in their lifetimes: Cancer Society

Nearly half of all Canadians are expected to be diagnosed with some form of cancer in their lifetime, according to new numbers from the Canadian Cancer Society.

For men, the lifetime risk of developing cancer is 49 per cent; for women, it’s 45 per cent, according to the Canadian Cancer Statistics annual report for 2017.

That’s a big jump from the 2016 report, which found that only two out of five Canadians could be expected to develop cancer in their lifetimes (45 per cent of men and 42 per cent of women).

But the Cancer Society says this year’s report, compiled with the Public Health Agency of Canada and Statistics Canada, uses a new approach to calculate lifetime risk that better captures cancers that might have occurred in the past.

"The new numbers are a better reflection of the risk of being diagnosed with cancer at some point in life, whether in the future or in the past," the group said, noting their new methodology is similar to that being used in the United States and United Kingdom.

Dr. Leah Smith, one of the report’s authors and an epidemiologist with the Cancer Society says it is clear that cancer is a disease that will touch almost all Canadians in some way.

"Almost half of us will be diagnosed with at least one form of cancer at some point during our lifetime. In addition, one in four Canadians will die of cancer. That might be your spouse, your parent, your child or you," she said in a statement.

The good news, Smith says, is that many cancers can be prevented. In fact, about half of all cancers can be prevented by following the advice for healthy living: not smoking, maintaining a healthy weight, exercising several times a week, and eating a diet high in fibre, fruits and vegetables.

The Cancer Society says that the rise in cancer cases in Canada is being driven in large degree by an aging and growing population. Cancer is a disease that mostly affects those aged 50 and older, and the risk increases with age.

This year, an estimated 206,200 Canadians will be diagnosed with cancer; almost 90 per cent will be among those older than 50.

"As more people live into old age, the number of cancer cases will continue to rise," the group said.

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