Kate Middleton’s diagnosis comes amid an ‘epidemic’ of early-onset cancer

Health

By Tracy Swartz

Kate Middleton revealed Friday that she is battling cancer that was discovered after recent abdominal surgery, and now oncologists are sounding the alarm about a rise in certain types of cancer among younger adults.

“There is currently an epidemic of cancer among young people (under 50),” said Dr. Shivan Sivakumar, associate professor of oncology at the University of Birmingham in England. he told The Telegraph last week.

“The cause of this is unknown, but we are seeing more patients suffering from abdominal cancer,” Sivakumar added.

And it’s not just about stomach cancers. Colorectal cancer rates have increased. among American adults under age 55. A study published last year in BMJ Oncology found a 79% increase in the global incidence of early-onset cancer and a 27% increase in deaths from early-onset cancer between 1990 and 2019.

Breast, tracheal, bronchial, lung, colorectal and stomach cancers caused the most illnesses and deaths in younger adults in 2019, the researchers noted, blaming poor diet, alcohol consumption, tobacco use, physical inactivity and excess body fat.

Harvard Medical School professors even went so far as to refer to early-onset cancer as an “emerging global epidemic.” in 2022 research.

Middleton, 42, did not specify the type of cancer she has, only that tests following her “major abdominal surgery” in January “found that cancer was present.”

“So, my medical team recommended that I undergo preventive chemotherapy treatment and I am now in the early stages of that treatment,” Middleton shared.

Andrew Beggs, a consultant colorectal surgeon and senior clinical fellow at the University of Birmingham, told The Telegraph that the diagnosis must have hit the royal family “like a bus”.

“When I started as a cancer surgeon 20 years ago, I rarely saw younger patients, but now I see them regularly,” said Beggs, who runs a clinic for cancer patients under 45.

“When they arrive they are surprised, because many times they have not had any symptoms and due to their age they do not think about cancer,” he added.

The Telegraph spoke to researchers who speculated on possible reasons for the growth of certain cancers, including genetic factors and changes in the gut microbiome.

Dr Veda Girimedical oncologist at Yale Medicine and director of the Yale Cancer Center Early Onset Cancer Program at Smilow Cancer Hospitalsaid this month that the prevalence of early-onset cancer “points to the need for more research in all kinds of domains: population sciences, behavioral health, public health and also basic sciences.”

“So right now, we’re focusing on recognizing that early-onset cancer is a different type of cancer and providing more support to these younger patients.” She explained.

Experts say the Princess of Wales’s public trip can encourage young people get tested, which could lead to more documented cancer cases.

A Texas man who was diagnosed with stage 2 colon cancer in 2021 said he was inspired by “Black Panther” star Chadwick Boseman, who died of colon cancer in 2020 at the age of 43.

“Chadwick Boseman raised awareness,” Randall D. Hardy he told his local ABC station in 2022. “Even for me. Just seeing how graceful he was through that. It showed how you can have the strength, even in a situation like that, to keep going and do the right things.”

“The Newsroom” actress Olivia Munn, 43, also recently revealed her breast cancer diagnosis and double mastectomy, and credited her doctor for performing a cancer risk assessment.

“The fact that he did it saved my life,” Munn wrote in an Instagram post this month.