About 10 young people on P.E.I. are expected to be diagnosed with cancer this year, says the executive director of the P.E.I. Division of the Canadian Cancer Society.
Dawn Binns presented the CCS’s newest statistics on youths with cancer. There are about 2075 young people in Canada between the ages of 15 and 29 who have been diagnosed with cancer. In these cases, about 326 are expected to die.
Binns said the survival rate for young people is about 85 per cent, which is higher than the 62 per cent survival rate seen among adults.
While the survival rate is good, more information about youths with cancer is needed, as well as information on the challenges they face after diagnosis, said Binns.
She also added melanoma, or skin cancer, is becoming increasingly common and provided some suggestions for Islanders to help make prevention easier.
Tanning beds are very dangerous and they should be limited to people under the age of 18. Shade trees should also be planted in the middle of parks where people play, so shade is more easily accessible.
“Stratford has done a great job of doing this in their parks,” she said.
