Colorectal Cancer Rising Among Under-50s as Experts Search for Answers
The death of US actor James Van Der Beek has once again highlighted a troubling global health trend: a sharp rise in colorectal cancer cases among people under the age of 50. The former Dawson’s Creek star passed away at 48 after battling stage three colorectal cancer, also known as bowel cancer. His death follows that of Black Panther actor Chadwick Boseman, who died from the same disease in 2020 at just 43. According to cancer epidemiology professor Helen Coleman of Queen’s University Belfast, cases among under-50s have increased by roughly one-third since the 1990s. Research published recently in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found that colorectal cancer is now the leading cause of cancer-related death among Americans under 50. While the statistics are concerning, experts stress that the overall number of cases among younger people remains relatively low. Around six percent of colorectal cancer diagnoses occur in people under 50. However, younger pa...