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Old 02-09-2011, 08:17 PM   #238
Ashartus
First Line Centre
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Calgary
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HeartsOfFire View Post
I'm skeptical on the whole cancer thing. Is it happening more frequently? Or are we just getting better at detecting it? I postulate that cancer rates have been consistent for centuries, but only in the last fifty years have we begun to attribute it to deaths that were previously unexplainable. But I have no evidence to support that.

I'm also skeptical on the increase of psycological disorders. Especially in the diagnoses of AD(H)D. It's rather convenient to pump up a kid with Ritalin or Prozac (of which the prescribing doctor no doubt gets a cut) instead of telling the parents 'you're doing a crappy job.'
Age-adjusted cancer rates overall are not increasing (Stats Canada has some reports on this - don't have a link offhand), and in fact for most cancers are stable or decreasing. The main reason total cancer cases increase is because people are living longer, and the chance of getting cancer increases the older you are.

Last edited by Ashartus; 02-09-2011 at 08:20 PM.
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