CANCER CASES SET TO SOAR BY 28% ; Killer Illness on the Rise As We Live Longer

CANCER cases are predicted to soar in Scotland over the next 15 years.

A report out yesterday warned of a 28 per cent jump in the number of people diagnosed with the disease.

Doctors will face treating increases in all but three types of cancer, mostly because we are living longer.

Experts predicted a 73 per cent rise in kidney cancer and melanomas – a form of skin cancer.

They also predicted a 71 per cent increase in cases of non- Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which affects bone marrow.

Throat cancer is set to soar by 64 per cent, while prostate cancer will rise by 53 per cent.

Overall, the number of new cases diagnosed will rise from 26,400, the figure in 2000, to 33,700 by 2020.

But the report expects significant falls in the levels of three cancers.

Cervical cancer is expected to drop 43 per cent because of screening and other preventive measures.

Cases of stomach cancer will decrease 23 per cent, continuing a long-term trend.

And lung cancer will fall 11 per cent thanks to anti-smoking measures.

The disease is already in decline among men and is forecast to start falling soon among women.

It is the most common form of cancer diagnosed in Scotland at present. But, by 2020,it will be overtaken by colorectal cancer and breast cancer.

The report, Cancer In Scotland, was written by Executive experts to help the NHS plan future care.

It explained: ‘Most of the predicted increase is a result of a growing elderly population.’

An extra 650 people under 75 and 1200 more over-75s will get cancer each year by 2020 .

Ian Gibson, director of sufferers’ support charity Macmillan Cancer Relief Scotland, said: ‘It is incredibly important that the Scottish Executive continues to treat cancer as a top priority and continues to invest.

‘More people are being diagnosed and more are surviving. They need support and information, which is not a strength of the health service, at present.’

TOP 5 CANCERS

Total cases from 1996-2000

Lung . . . . . . . . . . . . .23,354

Breast . . . . . . . . . . .17,752

Colorectal . . . . . . . .17,310

Prostate . . . . . . . . . .10,062

Bladder . . . . . . . . . . . .7538

Total . . . . . . . . . . .132,207 26,400 per year

Predicted cases from 2016-2020

Lung …………..20,747 11%

Breast …………23,697 34%

Colorectal ……24,643 42%

Prostate ……….5,405 53%

Bladder …………9781 30 %

Total…………………….168,724 33,700 per year , up 28%