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Number of over-65s with cancer set to treble
August 20, 2012
The number of older people with cancer is likely to soar over the coming years.
Adults may want to consider taking out private medical insurance to ensure they can get the latest cancer treatments, following the news that cancer rates are set to soar.
Researchers at King's College London claim that the number of over-65s living with cancer will increase from 1.3 million to 4.1 million by 2040 - a more than three-fold increase in cases.
By then, nearly one in four older people will have been diagnosed with cancer, placing increasing pressure on the health service.
And with new drugs for the disease becoming ever more innovative and expensive, the likelihood is that the state will not be able to fund many treatments.
The findings are published in the British Journal of Cancer and raise concerns about the country's preparedness to care for people with cancer in the future.
Ciaran Devane, chief executive at Macmillan Cancer Support, which funded the research, said: "The care of older cancer patients is the ticking time bomb for society.
"For cancer survival to improve, older people must be given the right treatment at the correct level of intensity, together with the practical support to enable them to take it up."
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