1 in 2 Canadians will get cancer: Cancer Society

Almost one in every two Canadians is expected to bediagnosed with cancer in their lifetime, and one in four Canadians
will die from the disease, a new report by the Canadian CancerSociety predicts.

Currently, every year we're seeing an increase in the number ofcancer cases in Canada.- Dr. Leah Smith, Canadian Cancer Society

In 2017, an estimated 206,200 Canadians will be diagnosed withsome form of cancer and an estimated 80,800 will succumb to theirmalignancy making cancer the leading cause of death in Canada, thecharitable organization said Tuesday in its annual cancer statisticsreport.

"Currently, every year we're seeing an increase in the number ofcancer cases in Canada," said the society's epidemiologist, LeahSmith. "So between now and 2030, for example, we expect to continueto see a dramatic increase in the number of cancers diagnosed inCanada.

"That is a reflection of the growing and aging population," shesaid. "About 90 per cent of all the cancers that we expect to bediagnosed in 2017 will be among Canadians 50 years of age andolder."

About 45 per cent of those cases will occur in people age 70 andolder, said Smith, noting that as more people move into old age, thenumber of cancer cases will rise.

Mortality rates declined over past 30 years

Despite the projection that cancer will cause the deaths of onein four Canadians, cancer mortality rates have been declining sincetheir peak in 1988. Over the past three decades, deaths due tocancer have fallen by more than 30 per cent among men and by about17 per cent among women.

• 6 Canadians arrested for allegedly selling fake cancer drugs online
• Battling cancer, MP Arnold Chan makes emotional address to MPs

"Declines in death rates have been largely driven by decreasesin lung cancer incidence and mortality, so tobacco control in general has had a big impact on our death rates," Smith said, especially among men, who historically had higher smoking rates thantheir female counterparts.

Increased rates of screening for breast cancer and improved treatments have also bolstered survival among women.

Still, four cancers prostate, breast, lung and colorectal continue to top the list of the most common malignancies, whichtogether are expected to account for more than half the cancerdiagnoses in 2017. Lung cancer continues to take a huge toll: morepeople are predicted to die of the disease this year (21,100) thanfrom a combination of the other three cancers (19,200 in total).

8 people in 1 family

Sarah Metcalfe, of Ottawa, is all too familiar with the ravages ofcancer, which has affected eight people in her family.

When she was a child, an aunt died of breast cancer. But cancerreally hit home when Metcalfe was a new mom in her early 30s and herhusband developed osteosarcoma in his upper arm, which wassuccessfully treated with a bone transplant and long courses of"dramatic" chemotherapy.

About the same time, three uncles succumbed to lung cancer,mostly due to smoking, and then her father developed fatal coloncancer.

"I thought that's got to be it now," said Metcalfe, 58.

But is was not to be: her brother was subsequently diagnosed withskin cancer, though he is "doing well," she said. "And then I hadmy turn." In 2011, Metcalfe learned she had breast cancer.

"Just as I'd finished treatment, my mom found a lump on herthigh" that turned out to be a soft-tissue sarcoma. Despite treatment, the cancer spread and her mother died about two yearslater.

"That's it so far," said Metcalfe, who as the owner of twowomen's fitness centres in part credits regular exercise and maintaining a healthy diet with her five-year survival.

Poor prognosis for pancreatic cancer

Survival rates for some cancers have improved dramatically overtime: overall, 60 per cent of Canadians diagnosed and treated forcancer will survive five years or longer, saidSmith.

But that's not the case for pancreatic cancer. With an eight percent five-year survival rate, the gastrointestinal cancer has thepoorest prognosis of the 23 malignancies the Canadian Cancer Societyreports on. This year, an estimated 5,500 Canadians will bediagnosed with cancer of the pancreas and 4,800 will die of thedisease.

Unfortunately, we're seeing very little improvement inpancreatic cancer, not just in Canada but around the world.- Dr. LeahSmith

"Unfortunately, we're seeing very little improvement inpancreatic cancer, not just in Canada but around the world," saidSmith, pointing out that the report has a special focus on thedisease in a bid to raise awareness and designated funding for thecancer.

Dr. Jolie Ringash, a radiation oncologist at Princess MargaretCancer Centre in Toronto, said pancreatic cancer is challenging totreat because tumours don't typically cause symptoms abdominal orback pain until they are at an advanced stage.

"It's one of the areas where we really have not seen significantbreakthroughs in 50 years," she said.

"So the lucky ones are where it's found very early, often bychance because the [patient is]having tests for some other reasonand there's a tiny cancer that can be surgically removed.

"That's the good-case scenario. But unfortunately, the vastmajority of these tumours progress within the abdomen, don't causeany symptoms for the longest time, and by the time they're recognizedthey're very advanced and treatments aren't very effective."

• WHO wants global focus on catching cancer early
• EXCLUSIVE |Gord Downie opens up about battling cancer

Ringash said more research into the causes of pancreatic canceris needed, which could help lead to a screening test that could topick up tumours when they're small and more treatable. Researchershope to find a biomarker in the bloodsimilar to the PSA test usedto screen for potential prostate cancer in men but she said moreresearch dollars are needed for such screening and to develop muchbetter treatment.

Unlike with breast cancer and prostate cancer, where survivorsand their families and friends often hold events to raise awarenessand research funding with the goal of finding cures, the issue ofpancreatic cancer seems to fall below the public radar and suffersas a result, she said.

"We don't have enough survivors out there pounding the streetsand doing the walks and raising the money."