The Life and Times of Baby Boomers

The Second of Several Fears

Baby boomers (often shortened to boomers) are the demographic cohort following the Silent Generation and preceding Generation X. The generation is generally defined as people born from 1946 to 1964, during the post–World War II baby boom. The term is also used outside the United States but the dates, the demographic context and the cultural identifiers may vary. The baby boom has been described variously as a "shockwave" and as "the pig in the python". Baby boomers are often parents of late Gen Xers and Millennials.

Today there are 73,000,000 baby boomers out of 332,000,000 Americans.  Boomers are far and away the largest generation in American and by 2030 every single one of them will be over age 65.  The economic, social, and healthcare impact of this development ais enormous.  Just as an example, there is no person on earth who has a clue how Social Security and Medicare can be financed for the Baby Boomer generation. 

Baby Boomers harbor several legitimate concerns about their future.  Near the top of the list is cancer.

Everyone has heard of cancer, but it is surprising how little is known about it and how it is changing in the U.S. Population.  There is only one human part that has escapes the ravages of cancer and that is the lens of the eye. 

How does cancer start?   Well, of the 200 different forms of cancer they all start with damage to the DNA in a single cell.   How it grows and how much damage it will do variers with every single cancer.

 

The word “cancer” is used to refer to any of the 200 different diseases, affecting many parts of the body, that are characterized by the uncontrolled growth of cells that invade and damage the body’s normal tissues. Cancer can begin in organ tissues as well as the skin, bone, cartilage, fat, muscle, blood vessels, immune system, and bone marrow. These cells can form tumors, although not all cancers do. In some cases,

 

cancer cells spread from their original site to other places in the body via the bloodstream or lymphatic system, a process called metastasis.

As a glittering generality, here are the main categories of cancer:

 

·        Brain Cancer

·        Blood Cancer

·        Breast Cancer

·        Cervical Cancer

·        Childhood Cancer

·        Colorectal Cancer

·        Stomach and Esophageal Cancers

·        Head and Neck Cancer

·        Kidney Cancer

·        Liver Cancer

·        Lung Cancer

·        Metastatic Cancer

·        Ovarian Cancer

·        Pancreatic Cancer

·        Prostatic Cancer

·        Sarcoma Cancer

·        Skin Cancer

·        Testicular Cancer

·        Thyroid Cancer

·        Uterine Cancer

As 10,000 baby boomers reach 65 each day, the incidence of cancer is increasing, estimated to increase by 67% between 2010 and 2030, bringing attention to the nation’s response to cancer care. Cancer is diagnosed at a higher rate, accounts for more survivors, and results in more deaths than in younger patients.

The working hypothesis is that the rapid increase in cancer rates among baby boomers can be associated primary with lifestyle related issues.  Baby boomers were the first generation exposed to fast food and all its perils, obesity is rampant among baby boomers, there is a dramatic shortage of exercise among boomers and working baby boomers can be under enormous levels of stress.

 

Some people with cancer will have only one treatment. But most people have a combination of treatments, such as surgery with chemotherapy. therapy or hormone therapy. Clinical trials might also be an option for you.

 

What are the survival rates for cancer.?  Each case is different and remember there are 200 different forms of cancer.  Here are the grim statistics for lung cancer.  For instance, 56 percent, or a little more than half, of people diagnosed with early-stage lung cancer live for at least five years after diagnosis. The five-year survival rate for people diagnosed with late-stage lung cancer that has spread (metastasized) to other areas of the body is 5 percent.

So, what can you do?   You can do a lot.  You can eat a healthy diet, exercise, control your weight and “chill out” or relax.  All these things can make an enormous different in the length of your life and the quality of your life.

A word about loved ones and survivors.  Both of my parents died of different forms of cancer.  It was bad enough that they died of cancer it was a living nightmare watching them go through it.  The pain and suffering were almost too much to bear.

 

Between 1985 and 1988 I interview both of my parents at their home on beautiful summer days with an old VHS camera.   They were happy and in love.  In less that eighteen months following the last interview they were both gone.  Each of them died horrific deaths and some of me died with them.  On Father’s Day, my son was kind enough to play back those interviews for me so I could remember my parents when they were happy and in love.  I hope you get sometime out of this.

 

Jan Ricks Jennings

Senior Consultant

Senior Management Services

 

Jan.Jennings@EagleTalons.net

JanJenningsBlog.Blogspot.com

 

June 29, 2021

 

If my parents were still alive, today would be their 81^st wedding anniversary.