Michael Snyder / November 20, 2019

A shocking new study that was just released has discovered that an epidemic of anal cancer is sweeping across America. At one time this sort of cancer was very rare in the United States, but experts are telling us that a shift in sexual behavior has caused “a dramatic rise” in the disease in this country.
Of course, this is not the only type of cancer that has been exploding in recent years. These days, just about everyone knows somebody with cancer, and it is truly a major national crisis. In fact, scientists tell us that about a third of all women and about half of all men will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lives…

Cancer will affect 1 in 2 men and 1 in 3 women in the United States, and the number of new cases of cancer is set to nearly double by the year 2050. Both predictions are based on statistics collected by the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) program at the National Cancer Institute (NCI).
Today, Americans spend more than 140 billion dollars a year treating cancer. That is “billion” with a “b”.

I am looking at that number right now and I am still having a difficult time believing that it is true, but it comes straight from the federal government.

Anal cancer certainly isn’t as prominent as breast cancer, lung cancer and prostate cancer, but this new study that just came out found that the number of cases has “increased dramatically over the last 15 years”…

Rates of new anal cancer diagnoses and deaths related to human papillomavirus (HPV), the most common sexually transmitted infection, have increased dramatically over the last 15 years, according to researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth). The results of their study were published in the November issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

And according to CNN, the increase has been particularly dramatic among a couple of key demographic groups…

“Our findings of the dramatic rise in incidence among black millennials and white women, rising rates of distant-stage disease, and increases in anal cancer mortality rates are very concerning,” the study’s lead author, Ashish A. Deshmukh, an assistant professor at UTHealth School of Public Health, said in a statement. “Given the historical perception that anal cancer is rare, it is often neglected.”

So why is this happening?

There are certainly a lot of reasons, but the study did specifically identify a major change in sexual behavior as one of the key driving factors. The following comes from CNN…

Since the 1950s, there have been substantial changes in risk factors for anal cancer, including shifts in sexual behaviors and an increased number of sexual partners, according to the study, both of which increase the likelihood of contracting HPV.

According to the study, the vast majority of anal cancer cases are caused by the HPV virus. In fact, it actually tops the list of the National Cancer Institute’s list of risk factors…

-- Being infected with human papillomavirus (HPV).
-- Having many sexual partners.
-- Having receptive anal intercourse (anal sex).
-- Being older than 50 years.
-- Frequent anal redness, swelling, and soreness.
-- Having anal fistulas (abnormal openings).
-- Smoking cigarettes.

The good news is that you can dramatically reduce your chance of getting the disease by avoiding high risk behaviors.
Today, it is way too easy to catch the HPV virus. According to the New York Post, approximately 79 million Americans are currently infected…

HPV is the most common sexually transmitted disease, infecting some 79 million Americans [1 out of 4!!! America has 327 million people, TM]. In its benign form, it goes undetected, often subdued by our body’s immune system. In some cases, though, it produces warts. And, if left untreated, more extreme strains of the virus could cause cancer.

That means that nearly one out of every four Americans has the virus.

Do you really want to gamble with your health? You may beat the odds a few times, but eventually, your luck is going to run out.

If you think that you may have this sort of cancer, there are certain symptoms that you should look for. The following list comes from the National Cancer Institute…

-- Bleeding from the anus or rectum.
-- Pain or pressure in the area around the anus.
-- Itching or discharge from the anus.
-- A lump near the anus.
-- A change in bowel habits.

Sadly, other unusual forms of cancer are also escalating rapidly. In fact, it was recently reported that oral cancer has risen to record high levels.

If you have ever known someone that has died from cancer, then you already know how horrible such a death can be. Anyone that is suffering through such a fate needs our love, our compassion, and our prayers.

As our culture has steadily deteriorated, we have opened the door for so much unnecessary pain and suffering. Every choice that we make has consequences, and as a society we just keep making disastrous choices.

Let me give you a very basic example. At one time millions upon millions of Americans were heavy smokers, and those that smoked got a lot of enjoyment out of it. Unfortunately, many of those same individuals eventually developed lung cancer, and many of them died way before they should have.

Smoking is not nearly as prevalent today, but other high risk behaviors have exploded in popularity. When we engage in those high risk behaviors, we shouldn’t be surprised when there are consequences later on.

And just as there are consequences for individual behavior, so there are also consequences for societal behavior as a whole.

Every year, the extreme social decay that is eating away at our society seems to get even worse. We need to alter our course and change our behavior while we still can, because the road that are currently on doesn’t lead anywhere good.

https://thewashingtonstandard.com/report...l-cancer-in-us/