Rising cancer rates among young people will mean rethinking how we do insurance

Insurance Insights | April 24, 2017

Rising cancer rates among young people will mean rethinking how we do insurance

It was with some concern we found out that cancer rates are increasing among young people, reversing 60 years of continuous decline. According to the American Cancer Society, colorectal cancer rates have increased with each successive generation after 1960. One factor driving this increase may be sedentary lifestyles as we sit more and more at our desks and in our cars.It is quite worrying, to say the least, that cancer is striking earlier and earlier. Today, young people will need to grapple with what is fast becoming a real threat to their health and well being. Gone are the days when we could afford to see cancer as an “old people’s” disease. Note we’re not talking about death here. The same proactive approach to life insurance that encourages people to talk about these issues in advance now applies to illness as it becomes more common at a young age.Moreover, young people may be at a disadvantage in the fight against cancer because they may get diagnosed at a later stage of their disease as doctors may dismiss a diagnosis at such early ages. Addressing this potentially life or death challenge means we need to get tested for colorectal cancer at progressively earlier stages of our lives and there’s no reason to feel insecure or dismissive about being tested.And while it may seem discouraging that your doctor wouldn’t be on your side in a matter as gravely serious as this one, but it’s all the more reason to get tested and have a conversation with your healthcare provider — a conversation that may save your life later on. Simply put, we cannot afford to take the attitude that “this can’t possibly happen to me.”Moreover, there is financial incentive in discussing these issues early on in that signing up for life insurance is cheaper when you’re young.These conversations are what we like to see as being in the know. Some people say that “no news is good news”, but at The Shepherd Group we think differently. Being in the know means being proactive instead of reactive about our lives. If being in the know sounds like something you like, try it on like a shirt and transform your world.What conversations are you putting off? Comment below or tweet us @TheShepherdGroup