Half of UK Population Will Have to Deal with Cancer

Half of all people in UK will develop cancer at some point in their lives, new estimates from Cancer Research UK suggest.

The new statistic revised earlier estimates which held that one in three people would develop cancer, Mashable reports. The situation calls for greater awareness about the importance of early cancer diagnose and ramping up caner prevention activities.

"We're living longer and that means we're more likely to develop a range of age-related health issues. We need to plan ahead to make sure the NHS is fit to cope. If the NHS doesn't act and invest now, we will face a crisis in the future - with outcomes from cancer going backwards," said Cancer Research UK's Chief Executive Harpal Kumar, in a news release.

Study's author Peter Sasieni said that cancer continues to remain a disease of the old as more than 60 percent of the people diagnosed were aged over 65. The findings show that men have a 54 percent risk while for women the risk is 48 percent.

"If we want to reduce the risk of developing the disease we must redouble our efforts and take action now to better prevent the disease for future generations," he said.

According to BBC, breast cancer in women and prostate cancer in men are set to remain the most common cancer types. Other types of cancers like esophageal cancers are becoming common. Head and neck cancers are also on the rise due to Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infections spread by oral sex.

While the study's findings are enough to cause alarm, it conveyed some good news: caner survival rates in the UK are higher than they ever were and the risk of cancer can be drastically reduced with lifestyle changes which include quitting smoking, reducing consumption of red meat and tackling obesity.