Brad Arnold of '3 Doors Down' and the rise of young people getting cancer
Brad Arnold, the lead vocalist for 3 Doors Down, revealed this week on May 7 that he's been diagnosed with advanced stage kidney cancer.
"I've got some not-so-good news for you today," Arnold, 46, said in an Instagram video. "So, I'd been sick a couple of weeks ago and then went to the hospital and got checked out and had actually got the diagnosis that I had clear cell renal carcinoma that had metastasized into my lung. And it's stage 4, and that's not real good."
Young celebrity after celebrity have recently announced they have (or had) cancer. James Van Der Beek. Jenna Fischer. Olivia Munn. Princess Kate. Elle Macpherson. The list goes on.
What's going on? There's no exact cause known for the rise in cancers among young people, according to experts, but researchers are trying to figure it out. The best bet for a health-conscious person is fine-tuning diet and exercise routines, staying up-to-date on screenings, listening to your body and going to regular doctor's appointments.
Screenings will vary by age group. But given the higher incidence rate in young people, would that mean earlier screenings may be necessary? "We're not, at this point, recommending that everybody who's 30 go out and get screening tests," Dr. John Marshall, director of The Ruesch Center for the Cure of GI Cancers at Georgetown University, previously told USA TODAY. "But what we are recommending is that when people do have symptoms, that they don't write it off as other things."
'Out of the blue'
When Marshall – a self-described "old oncologist" – first started his career, no one under the age of 50 sat down in his clinic. Now they make up about half his patients. A significant portion are in their 30s and 40s, mostly with colon cancer.
"Most of these people are in fact, very healthy, very conscious of what they eat," he said. "They're exercise people, they're the 'right weight,' and no family history for these cancers, and it's kind of out of the blue."
He's not alone. "In my own practice I have seen, and statistically we have seen nationwide," Dr. Emil Lou, professor of medicine at the University of Minnesota previously told USA TODAY, "a stunning rise in cases that we now refer to as 'early onset' or 'young adult' cancers, generally defined as occurring in individuals younger than 50 years of age."
A leading theory behind this incidence uptick is all the changes to our microbiome over time – the environment, air, water, etc. "A lot of folks suspect that there's early life exposures that may have something to do with either our water supply or our food supply," Dr. Mohamed Abazeed, co-leader of the Lung Cancer Program in the Lurie Cancer Center at Northwestern University, also previously told USA TODAY.
Marshall wondered: Is it our water quality? Is it food processing? All these factors have potential consequences for our health, beyond cancer. But cancer is drawing attention given its grave nature.
'It could have spread'
Perhaps if people routinely visited their primary care physician, they could catch diseases before they develop or spread. More than three-quarters of Americans put off important health check-ups, according to a recent Aflac Wellness Matters Survey. It's higher for millennials at 84%.
For those eligible for health screenings like a colonoscopy, physicians could catch and remove precancerous polyps in addition to checking for cancer already present.
Jenna Fischer, 50, said in an Instagram post sharing her breast cancer journey: "My tumor was so small it could not be felt on a physical exam. If I had waited six months longer, things could have been much worse. It could have spread."
Treat your symptoms 'seriously'
Of course, it's critical to think about data in context. People have been less likely to die from cancer over the last few decades despite the increasing incidence rate.
Still, Marshall cautioned both patients and medical professionals to not brush away concerning symptoms just because someone is young. Don't send a 30-year-old with rectal bleeding away assuming it's a hemorrhoid; if that person was 60 or 70, you wouldn't immediately rule out colon cancer.
Lou added: "Ultimately, knowing your body and trusting your intuition if you feel something is wrong is important to recognize at any age. If you report your symptoms to a medical care team and don't feel that you are being heard, then be persistent and seek out additional opinions."
The short of it: If you experience dietary or weight changes or a shift in bowel habits that lasts for weeks? Go to the doctor. "That's generally the way these things show up," Marshall said, "sort of vague, early symptoms that don't seem to go away. Treat them seriously."
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