Women’s cancer rates rising faster than men’s

World Cancer Day

People in the North West are being encouraged to support World Cancer Day as figures released by Cancer Research UK show that cancer rates will climb nearly six times faster in women than in men over the next 20 years.

Cancer Research UK is calling on men, women and children to play their part by wearing a Unity Band or donating. Money raised will help fund life-saving research and help bring forward the day when all cancers are cured.

Analysis from the charity reveals that cancer rates in the UK are projected to increase by less than one per cent for men and by three per cent for women over the next two decades. This means that by 2035 an estimated 4.5 million women and 4.8 million men will be diagnosed with cancer.

Currently every year in the North West, around 20,400 women and 21,200 men are diagnosed with cancer.

Smoking and obesity are part of the reason for the faster rising rates for women as several of the obesity-related cancer types only affect women. Widespread smoking among women happened later than men and smoking continues to have a big effect on the number of cancer cases diagnosed each year.

Jane Bullock, Cancer Research UK spokesperson for the North West, said: “These new figures reveal the huge challenge we continue to face, both in the UK and worldwide. Research is at the heart of finding ways to reduce cancer’s burden and ensure more people survive, particularly for hard-to-treat cancers where the outlook for patients is still bleak

“So many of us know someone affected by cancer, and wearing a Unity Band on World Cancer Day on 4 February is a simple and easy way to show support.

“Whatever your motivation – to remember a loved one, celebrate people who have overcome the disease, or to rally in support of those going through treatment, World Cancer Day is a chance to get involved and help more people survive this disease.”

The charity’s World Cancer Day Unity Bands are made of two parts, knotted together, to symbolise strength in unity and the power of what can be achieved when people join forces. They are available in three different colours and can be found in all Cancer Research UK stores for a suggested donation of £2 as well as online at cruk.org/worldcancerday.

The new figures show that 8.8 million people die from cancer each year across the world. More people die from cancer than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis put together. With more investment into research, Cancer Research UK hopes to make big improvements over the next 20 years in diagnosing the disease earlier and improving and developing treatments so that by 2034, three in four people will survive their disease.

As the number of people being diagnosed with cancer continues to surge, Cancer Research UK is funding research in the North West and spent more than £23m last year in the region to find better treatments and ways to diagnose the disease early when treatment is more likely to be successful.

For more information about World Cancer Day, visit cruk.org/worldcancerday