A BBC article today told of the pleasing news that the death rate in childhood and teenage cancers is significantly dropping. In fact it has halved over the last 3 years and especially in Leukaemia.
This is great, no one could deny that this is what we want to see, more people surviving it. Not quite as good for the rare types of cancer such as sarcoma's though, as Simon Davis from the Teenage Cancer Trust points out, no change on this.
There is something that i would rather see and that is less people developing it. Why are more young people and children developing cancers?
The article had one sentence that went on to state that despite the survival figures, the incidence of all types of childhood and teenage cancers is increasing....
That was it - nothing more on that point.
The emphasis was on the fact that it is hard to get this age group on to clinical trials due to age restrictions etc and so the point of the piece was one of clinical trials....all very good, but what are they trialling. What methods? just other drugs?
The bigger story i feel is not the clinical trials, but that one sentence on the continual increase in incidences.
This has to be far greater. What is it about our teenagers that they are developing cancers at an in increasing rate.
Where do we start? Is it the fact that nearly every teenager spends a good deal of time with a mobile phone or similar device very close to their person.
Is it stress that they are under. Is it lifestyle? Poor quality food etc.
Given that some cancers are in the body a few years before they manifest, what is happening to our children 5 or 6 years before it shows...Is it vaccinations giving poor immunity?
This is what we really want to know.
Yes it's fantastic that we have this increase in survival rates, but lets look at what we need to change to limit occurrence in the first place.
The age old 'prevention better than cure' and often a good deal cheaper for the NHS although not such a healthy profit for the cancer industry.
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