Why are we more likely to get cancer as we age?

By Stuart Pitson
Updated June 28 2018 - 1:34pm, first published January 31 2017 - 12:00am
It’s estimated our cells will replicate 10,000 trillion times in our lifetime. Errors in this process can lead to cancer.
It’s estimated our cells will replicate 10,000 trillion times in our lifetime. Errors in this process can lead to cancer.

IT’S a sobering fact that one in two Australian men and one in three Australian women will be diagnosed with some form of cancer by the age of 85. It’s even more alarming when you consider these statistics do not include the most common skin cancers (basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma of the skin). It is estimated hundreds of thousands of Australians are treated for these each year.

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