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From NIH's National Cancer institute:

* Approximately 39.5% of men and women will be diagnosed with cancer at some point during their lifetimes (based on 2015–2017 data). This is no where near 50% of people "having cancer".

* The rate of new cases of cancer (cancer incidence) is 442.4 per 100,000 men and women per year (based on 2013–2017 cases). (.442%)

* The cancer death rate (cancer mortality) is 158.3 per 100,000 men and women per year (based on 2013–2017 deaths) (.158%).

Regardless, these numbers are very scary.



Those numbers are context-less. Cancer is what happens to you if something else doesn't kill you first.


Exactly this. The prevalence of cancer in my family is pushing 100%. However, the onset is almost always in the mid/upper 80s to early 90s. So it's not really that cancer is a problem for my family as much as it seems like living long enough to get killed by it is.


Those numbers have been about the same in the last two decades. The numbers have always been that high.


This just says we're living longer, not that cancer is suddenly becoming an epidemic.

Live long enough and you will get cancer.


40% is definitely near 50%


"will have" infers a future present though. 40% will have at some point in their life is substantively different than 50% having at a single moment in time




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