September 4, 2016

Modern life found to be upping cancer in British children

Daily Mail, UK Pollution, pesticides and fast food is killing our children with new [British] government statistics revealing that the number of youngsters diagnosed with cancer has risen by 40% over the past 16 years.

Analysis compiled by researchers from the charity Children with Cancer UK found new cases of cancer in young people rose by 1,300 every year since statistics were last compiled in 1998.

The charity found this is most evident in colon cancer which has increased by 200% and thyroid cancer which has seen its cases doubled during the 18 years since the last report was released.

Although researchers can attribute some of the rise to improvements in cancer diagnoses and more screening, they admit the majority is probably caused by environmental factors.

Alasdair Philips, science adviser at Children with Cancer UK told Sky News that there seems to be 'a correlation between the lifestyle of young people'

'They tend to be doing a lot less exercise and there's also a lot of fast food being eaten, which is fine in moderation, but we know they do contain cancer giving substances,' he said. 'It sometimes feels like we are fighting a losing battle.' It is hard for children to avoid air pollution which has contributed to the rise in cancer among young people. Doctors also fear radiation from phones could be a culprit although this has yet to be confirmed.

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