Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales, Jenna Fischer, from the TV hit, The Office,
actress Olivia Munn and actor James Van Der Beek, the Dawson’s Creek heartthrob – These are just a few celebrities under the age of 50 diagnosed with cancer this year.
They may be famous, but they are not alone. According to Yale Medicine, doctors are diagnosing cancer in more adults at younger ages. It is called “early-onset” cancer.
And here is the problem – many of those diagnosed with cancer at younger ages are too young to undergo recommended screenings. Their cancers are more likely to be caught because of symptoms or vigilance because of family history.
Mammogram screening should begin at age 40, according to the American Cancer Society. Yet actress Christina Applegate was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 36.
Cancer in Young People: Screening Guidelines
Here are the recommended screening ages for other cancers:
- Cervical cancer: age 25
- Colorectal cancer: age 45
- Prostate cancer for African American men: age 45
- Prostate cancer for other men: age 50
- Lung cancer for those who smoke or used to smoke: 50.
Keep in mind, these are only guidelines. Risk and screening assessment can be personal depending on your family history and other factors – like sex and ethnicity. The American Cancer Society even has a quiz to test your cancer screening knowledge. It will certainly open your eyes to some common myths and truths when it comes to knowing when to screen for cancer.
Cancer in Young People
The National Cancer Institute reports the median age to be diagnosed with cancer is 66. But age varies for different cancers. For instance, cancer originating in the bone, brain cancers and nervous system cancers are more frequently diagnosed in those under the age of 20.
And according to a UC Davis blog, unfortunately because young people tend not to see their doctors as frequently as older folks, many times the cancer is found in later stages when symptoms become more debilitating, the cancers are more aggressive or they are harder to treat.
An article from Memorial Sloan Kettering is sounding the alarm too.
“This is serious and worrisome,” says Shari Goldfarb, MD, breast oncologist and Director of MSK’s Young Women With Breast Cancer program in the article.
A few reasons for the increase could be obesity, processed foods, and couch-potato lifestyles. There could be environmental and biological factors as well. And researchers are delving into other reasons as well.
“This is not a blip,” explains Andrea Cercek, MD, gastrointestinal oncologist and Co-Director of The Center for Young Onset Colorectal and Gastrointestinal Cancer in the article. “The more data we gather, the clearer this becomes.”
As researchers try to figure out the reasons. You can take control of your own health. For younger people – if you feel you are having a problem be your own advocate, go to the doctor and demand screenings and testing.
Cancer in Younger People: Diagnosis and Treatment
If you or your loved one is diagnosed with cancer at a younger age and your treatment may require radiation, the experts at the CyberKnife Center of Miami – the premier cancer treatment center in South Florida – are here to help.
What is CyberKnife?
CyberKnife is a state-of-the art, noninvasive radiation treatment system that can successfully treat cancers of the prostate, lungs, breast, liver, kidneys, pancreas, head and neck, lymph nodes and brain as well as other metastatic cancers.
CyberKnife has been used for more than two decades and studied in clinical trials. It has helped hundreds of thousands of patients – even patients who were told they could not have more radiation, or their tumors were inoperable.
The CyberKnife System is the only radiation delivery system that features a linear accelerator (linac) directly mounted on a robot to deliver the high-energy x-rays or photons used in radiation therapy.
The robot moves and bends around the patient, to deliver radiation doses from potentially thousands of unique beam angles, significantly expanding the possible positions to concentrate radiation to the tumor while minimizing dose to surrounding healthy tissue.
This robotic delivery and real-time image guidance have set the standard for delivery precision and enable stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) and stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) treatments for the full range of tumor types.
Why does precision matter?
Precise and accurate delivery of radiation to the tumor is key to killing cancerous cells while minimizing dose to healthy tissues. Accurate and precise delivery helps minimize irradiation of the healthy tissues surrounding tumors and potentially the risk of side effects, which may lead to better quality of life for the patient both during and after treatment.
Why does motion management matter?
As the patient breathes, they could change their position or move their head, even slightly. The patient could cough. Muscles tense and relax. The CyberKnife System is the only device designed to accommodate all forms of patient and tumor motion, even while the treatment is being delivered. With its motion adaptive delivery technology, the CyberKnife System enables smaller treatment margins around the tumor, minimizing the amount of healthy tissue exposed to high-dose radiation.
The CyberKnife System uses advanced technologies to track tumors anywhere in the body, while its unique robotic design keeps the radiation on target even while the tumor moves. Before delivering the radiation beam, the CyberKnife System is the only device that verifies the exact tumor position then adjusts the robot to precisely target the tumor. This helps to ensure radiation is delivered to where the tumor is, not to where it was moments before.
Additionally, the CyberKnife System features Synchrony, the world’s only real-time adaptive delivery technology. Synchrony adapts the delivery of the radiation treatment to tumors while they are in motion by synchronizing the treatment delivery beam position to the target location precisely and accurately during the delivery of a treatment fraction. The sophisticated motion synchronization technology eliminates the need to use uncomfortable patient restraints or ask patients to hold their breath for example.
Bottomline – Cybercide offers excellent tumor control, lower risk of damage to healthy tissue, a better quality of life during treatment and fewer treatments than with traditional radiation. Plus, most parts of the body that have been treated with radiation before can be retreated with Cybercide.
If you are interested in learning more about CyberKnife Miami call the cancer experts at 305-279-2900 or go to our website now www.cyberknifemiami.com.