ABC News Daily Why are so many younger people getting cancer?
Rising Cancer Rates in Younger Adults
- Cancer rates in younger Australians aged 30-39 have risen sharply for several types including bowel, prostate, pancreatic, and liver cancers.
- This phenomenon of early onset cancer is alarming and varied, with some cancers increasing by over 150%.
Why Young People Are Facing a Surge in Cancer Rates
Cancer rates in younger Australians, particularly those in their 30s and 40s, are rising sharply with multiple types of cancer increasing significantly, including bowel cancer up 173% and prostate cancer up 500% since 2000.
Research suggests this early onset cancer could be linked to environmental and lifestyle factors such as changes in the gut microbiome caused by toxic E. coli infections early in life, cesarean births altering gut bacteria, and the rise in ultra-processed foods and plastic contamination.
Exposure to potentially harmful chemicals in plastics, many of which remain untested for safety in humans, could also be contributing, but definitive proof is still lacking.
Because cancer development is slow, many of these harmful exposures may have occurred during childhood or even in the womb.
Current cancer screening programs start too late for many younger people, and expanding them involves complex economic and medical considerations. Early detection, awareness of symptoms, and lifestyle choices like a Mediterranean diet and physical activity remain key preventive strategies.
Fiona's Liver Cancer Story
- Fiona, diagnosed with liver cancer just after turning 40, experienced a ruptured tumor and now lives with non-curative treatment.
- Despite a healthy lifestyle, her diagnosis shocked her family and exemplifies cancer's sudden impact on younger people.