Relax, you will not get cancer, most likely

The headline screaming that half of Britons by 2020 will get cancer made me wonder if this applies to us here in America as well.  Well, like any prediction for the future, I am very skeptical and always like to look at the assumptions.

1. The prediction is applicable only for Great Britain because it takes into consideration their demographics and epidemiological data.
2. Like most of Europe and Japan, Britain has an aging society, and thanks to massive immigration we don't as much.

Having said that, like Britain, we are seeing higher numbers for cancer, but every time someone tries to scare you that you are going to die from an illness, it is misleading: we will all die, most likely from an illness (the second of the only two causes of death is accident).  Since no one dies from old age, what is going to happen is that we might now die from cancer instead of, say, throat infection or gastroenteritis.  So go out there, eat healthy, be happy, and live well.  Don't worry too much about dying.