More and more people will be diagnosed with cancer in the coming years. In 2019, 118,000 people were told they had cancer, in 2032 that will rise to 156,000 diagnoses. This was revealed on Tuesday from research by the Comprehensive Cancer Center of the Netherlands (IKNL). The increase is mainly due to the aging population in the Netherlands.
Every hour about eighteen people will receive the bad news, the IKNL calculates. A number of cancers are not included in the calculation, including a common form of skin cancer and a preliminary stage of breast cancer.
The Netherlands has more and more elderly people and they are also getting older than before. Old age increases the risk of cancer. An unhealthy lifestyle also plays a role, the IKNL reports. Smoking, drinking alcohol, being overweight and not exercising much increases the risk of cancer.
The number of cases of skin cancer will increase the fastest in the next ten years. The IKNL expects an increase of 40 percent. That would be the result of “excessive exposure to UV radiation from the sun and tanning beds”. Being overweight will also cause more people to develop liver, kidney or bile duct cancer. The center expects that by 2032 one in thirteen Dutch people will have or have ever had cancer.
The chance of dying from cancer is decreasing, according to the IKNL. There are more possibilities in the treatment of cancer today and diagnosis at an early stage is much more common.
Increase in the number of cancer diagnoses can no longer be prevented
The increase in the number of cancer diagnoses will put a significant burden on healthcare, which is already understaffed. The patients themselves may also suffer from the consequences for a long time. For example, they can suffer from chronic fatigue and sometimes become partially or completely incapacitated for work, which can lead to financial problems.
The increase in the number of cancer diagnoses can no longer be prevented, the IKNL expects. The aging population is in full swing, and past smoking addictions and unprotected sunbathing cannot be reversed. But quitting smoking and preventing obesity can reduce the risks.