Once you hit 80, odds say you'll live past 90

Risk factors for another cancer jump up if you've already had one kind — or if one of your kin has

Is it possible to live cancer-free?

The answer is a resounding yes, at least according to a recent non-bylined article in the AARP Magazine, whose subhead reads in part, "Age is a risk factor for cancer, but the chances of developing a fatal cancer may actually begin to decline at age 70."

It also contends that "once you hit 80, our chance of living to 90 and beyond goes way up."

The article isn't totally positive, however.

It says, for instance, that "women who have had breast cancer are more at risk for another type of breast cancer, and other cancers."

And it notes that "a Stanford University study showed that people diagnosed with six or more basal cell carcinomas have more than three times the odds for developing future cancers, such as breast, colon and prostate cancer as well as leukemia and lymphoma — likely due to an underlying  problem in genes that repair DNA."

In short, having one kind of cancer makes a woman or man prone to other kinds. 

And if you smoked, it says, "you're at increased risk for not only lung cancer but also a dozen other cancers, including oral, cervical, bladder and pancreatic."

Your family medical history can also increase your risk.

Heather Hampel

The AARP piece quotes Heather Hampel, associate director of the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, as saying that if you have a family history of cancer you should coordinate with a genetic counselor who can put your results in perspective and recommend an action plan.

"Women who carry the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene, for example, have up to a 72% chance of developing breast cancer and 44% chance of ovarian cancer by age 80," the article states.

But, even though in the general population women have only about a 12% lifetime risk of breast cancer, and "though those statistics sound scary, genetic testing can help doctors guide you on the best ways to prevent cancers, or diagnose this earlier, when they are treatable," the AARP mag further   quotes Hampel.

More information about risks can be found in "Rollercoaster: How a man can survive his partner's breast cancer," a VitalityPress book that I, Woody Weingarten, aimed at caregivers.

Can 40 percent of cancers be prevented?

Vast majority of cancer-causing mutations due to random DNA errors, new study indicates

"Two-thirds of cancer mutations are due to random DNA copying errors, study says."

That's the bulk of a slightly scary headline at the top of a recent "To Your Health" section of The Washington Post website.

In a story by Laurie McKinley, the study — published in "Science" magazine — cancer-causing mutations occur when normal cells divide. 

Humans, according to the piece, "have trillions of cells, which are constantly regenerating by dividing and making new cells. But each time DNA is copied, the scientists said, an average of three random mistakes will occur. While most are harmless, a small number affect genes that will promote cancer."

Bert Vogelstein

The Post article indicates that two Johns Hopkins University researchers — Bert Vogelstein, a cancer geneticist, and Cristian Tomaetti, a mathematician — were able in their study to separate the randomness factor from the other main contributors to cancer: inherited genes and environmental factors such as smoking and obesity.

Cristian Tomasetti

Results, after analyzing  "genome sequencing and epidemiological data for 32 types of cancer," assigned the mutations thusly: 66 percent, DNA-replication mistakes; 29 percent, environmental factors; 5 percent, heredity.

Variations depended on what kind of cancer they were talking about. According to the story, for example, "random DNA-replication mistakes account for about 77 percent of critical mutations in pancreatic cancer, and virtually all childhood cancer."

But "more than two-thirds of the mutations in lung cancer were due to environmental factors, mostly smoking."

McGinley's piece noted that "the new research builds on a 2015 study that highlighted the role of 'bad luck' — random DNA errors — in developing cancer. That study drew vehement protests from some cancer physicians and researchers who worried it would encourage people to take a fatalistic approach to cancer rather than trying to reduce their cancer risk by maintaining a healthy weight, exercising regularly, eating a good diet and avoiding cigarettes."

The Hopkins researchers have claimed "their earlier work was widely misinterpreted," the article continued — and emphasized that the new study "was consistent with estimates that 40 percent of cancers can be prevented."

Vogelstein insisted said that "science needs to find better ways to detect cancer early, when there is a good chance of curing it."

According to the story, critics of the 2015 study "disliked the 'bad luck' explanation and complained that the study was limited to the United States and didn't include the most common cancers — breast and prostate."

Insights into cancer mutations — especially BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes — can be found in "Rollercoaster: How a man can survive his partner's breast cancer," a VitalityPress book I, Woody Weingarten, aimed at male caregivers.