Increasing Cancer Rates, Troubling Views on Sin, and Human Extinction via AI

Cancer is Increasing Among Young People

A new article in The Washington Post highlights a question a lot of people are asking: Is our contemporary life and culture contributing to early cancer rates? I think all of us know a young husband or wife who is diagnosed with cancer far too young. This article says these instances are not just tragic stories. It represents a trend.

We typically think of older generations as more susceptible to cancer, but rates among older generations are actually falling. At the same time, cancer rates among Americans age 15 to 49 have gone up by 10 percent since 2000:

The trend began with younger members of Generation X but is now most visible among millennials, who are being diagnosed in their 20s, 30s, and early 40s — decades earlier than past generations. Medications taken during pregnancy, the spread of ultra-processed foods, disruptions to circadian rhythms — caused by late-night work, global travel and omnipresent screens — and the proliferation of synthetic chemicals are all under scrutiny.

Women in these generations are more likely to be affected than men. They have an 83 percent higher cancer rate than men in the same demographics.

It’s not just cancer, either. Major diseases, from heart disease to Alzheimer’s, are being detected in younger generations.