Orange County hospital sees troubling increase in cancer cases among young adults
Doctors from a revered Orange County hospital specializing in cancer treatment have found a troubling trend among their younger adults.
City of Hope doctors compared cancer rates across Southern California over five years. They found that while Orange County's numbers were highest overall for people under 50, Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties saw a decrease in rates by .6% while Riverside County remained stable.
"This observation that we're seeing of younger people being diagnosed with cancer at earlier ages is a growing epidemic that we are observing in the clinic," Dr. Edward Kim, physician-in-chief, said.
Oncologists said the rates of cancer in people under 50 are the highest in breast, colon and lung cancer.
Juliette Landgrave, diagnosed with breast cancer at 38 years old, and Brandon Arbini, diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer at 41 years old, are the young faces of cancer in Orange County. Arbnini had a foot of his colon removed as well as part of his liver. He had no family history of colon cancer and didn't smoke or drink, but he was one of those under 50 to get the bad news.
"Cancer, especially colon cancer, is not a disease of the elderly anymore," he said. "It's happening to more and more young people."
He recommended people take their appointments seriously and get screened routinely.
"I've seen in my triple negative cancer groups women that are 20; just starting their lives, being diagnosed with this horrible disease," said Landgrave. "So, I'm lucky that I was able to feel the lump and I was able to advocate for myself."
Doctors said the increase in cancer among younger adults has several possible causes. First, there's better cancer screening. Next, there are environmental factors; for some cancers, diet and lifestyle choices increase risk.
