So when the “1 in 2 of us will get cancer” statistic comes up on TV, is it right that us and the person we’re sitting with are wondering who will get it?
That doesn’t seem to make sense to me, but at the same time I can’t explain it.
So does “1 in 2”, “1 in 10” etc mean “2 people sat on a couch, 1 of you is getting cancer”, “look at 10 people in the street and 1 will get cancer”?
EDIT: cheers everyone for your explanations! Colour me informed.
In: Biology
People used to die more.
I am 29 years old. Without modern medicine, I would have died at age 19, when I got a bad infection that turned septic. I needed antibiotics and an operation to clean out the wound in order to save my life.
But I might not have lived to 19. When I was 12, I had appendicitis. That has a 30% mortality rate without operating – even if you give the person antibiotics. It would be higher still without modern hospitals and care.
But I might not have lived to see 12, either. I got acute bronchitis at age 2. I was in ICU. Without modern medicine, I absolutely would have died as a toddler.
Of course, none of that would have mattered. I was a premature baby. I wouldn’t have survived my own birth if I’d been born even a couple of generations ago.
I am not unusual. If you were to examine literally anyone’s life, you would see how modern medicine has protected them and extended their life. It begins with birth. Then vaccinations – whether or not they actually receive them. Then medical care through their life. Dental care. Good (or at least plentiful) food. These things prevent the kind of deaths that were common very recently.
My grandfather had TB, my great-grandfather had polio. These illnesses no longer concern us.
So when we don’t die from other things, what is left? We have to die from something. Cancer eventually turns up if you live long enough. So does heart failure. That is why 1 in 2 people get cancer: because now we can fix most other problems.
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