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Nearly 10% of all adults in the US have had cancer according to a new Gallup survey.
Although cancer deaths have declined in recent decades, the number of cases has increased significantly.
In 2008-2009, the number of adults who had received a diagnosis was a little over 7%. This percentage remained stable until 2014-2015, when it began to climb.
One reason for the increase is because people are living longer after diagnosis than they were before.
As Axios notes, “Older Americans have much higher rates of lifetime diagnoses than younger adults. And per Gallup, the share of those aged 65 and older who have been diagnosed with cancer has risen 3.4 percentage points from 2008-2009 period to 2024-2025.”
The elderly share of the population is also increasing.
However, there have been noticeable rises in some forms of cancer such as colorectal cancer among the young.
In the US, the overall cancer incidence rate among adolescents and young adults is increasing.
Gastrointestinal cancers; obesity-related cancers such as kidney, gallbladder and certain liver cancers; and cancers of the sexual organs such as breast and testicular cancer are all increasing among those aged 17-34.
Colorectal cancer incidence, in particular, is increasing by 1-2% per year, and is now the leading cause of death in men under 50 and the second in women of the same age.
Growing rates of obesity, sedentary lifestyles and exposure to environmental pollutants have been blamed.
