Dramatic rise in cancer rate among middle aged in region

Around nine women and six men in their 40s and 50s are diagnosed in the region every day with the illness which affects more than 5,000 people a year in the age group.

The charity Cancer Research UK said that rates in the region are now higher than the English average. Among men and women aged 40-59, the number diagnosed in Britain has risen by more than a third in a generation to 61,000 in 2008.

The rise has been biggest in the last 30 years among women, with 36,500 developing the illness each year, up 25 per cent. Nearly 24,000 men are now diagnosed each year, up 20 per cent.

Across the period, incidence of cancer among the middle aged has risen from 329 per 100,000 to 388 per 100,000.

Prostate cancer rates have risen six-fold to nearly 4,000, while breast cancer rates have increased by 50 per cent to 17,100.

In contrast lung cancer in middle-aged men has dropped from 6,300 to around 2,700.

But despite an extra 17,000 per year being struck by the illness, the number of people surviving cancer has doubled over the past three decades, according to the charity.

Doctors say early cancer detection, new drugs, better surgery and more effective radiotherapy means patients now have almost a 50 per cent chance of surviving with the disease for at least 10 years.

Charity chief executive Harpal Kumar said: “There has been undeniable progress in the treatment of cancer over the last 40 years and many more people are surviving the disease.

“But we must redouble our efforts to ensure that our research continues to discover new techniques to improve and refine diagnosis and treatment so that cancer survival becomes the norm for patients, irrespective of the cancer they have or their age at diagnosis.”

The figures are being published alongside a new national campaign by the charity to urge more people to donate money for research into the illness.

Nicki Embleton, Cancer Research UK spokeswoman for Yorkshire, said: “As the number of people diagnosed with the disease continues to rise and the economy tightens, we need the support of local people now more than ever.”