Articles in News

Articles in Cancer

A blue and yellow infographic with the BuDS logo. the headline is "What's Causing the Rise in Cancers' next to a picture of a bald smiling woman cradling her head with her hand.

What’s Causing the Rise in Cancer?

Andrew

New Study Gives Better Understanding

A major new research study has given scientists and doctors a better understanding of why cancers have been on the increase in the UK and many other countries for many years.

Cancers On The Rise

Cancers of all kinds have been increasing in adults in the UK and in other countries for many years. The reasons for this rise are unclear and there are many different theories among scientists and doctors.

It is well-known and proven that lifestyle risk factors like smoking, diet, alcohol use, exercise and obesity increase the risk of developing cancer. One theory is that people are simply becoming unhealthier, that is to say they are exposed to more of these lifestyle risk factors. If that is the case, say some scientists, growing un-healthiness might be a simple reason why cancer rates have gone up.

The Study

Published in the British Medical Journal for Oncology, the study tested the theory that growing un-healthiness explains why cancer rates are going up. The study looked specifically at younger (20 – 49 years old) adults in the UK between 2001 and 2019. It asked whether increases in lifestyle risk factors in these adults over this period explained why cancer rates increased in this group in that period. In other words, were these younger adults living less healthy lives over that period and that was why they were getting more cancers?

The researchers first worked out which cancers had become more common in adults aged 20 to 49 years old in the period from 2001 to 2019 – there were eleven. They then looked at how lifestyle risk factors were affecting this age group over the same period, and whether lifestyle risk factors affected more people or less. They then ran a statistical analysis to see if the rate of increase in cancers in matched up to the changes in lifestyle risk factors, taking into account other factors which might confuse the comparison.

The study showed that, apart from obesity, lifestyle risk factors were affecting the same number or fewer younger adults from 2001 to 2019. In other words, younger adults were not living un-healthier lives and exposing themselves to more lifestyle risks over that period, except that more of them were seriously overweight.

Cancers related to obesity did increase as expected. There was a clear link between more younger people being overweight and more younger adults getting cancer.

However, cancers not linked to obesity also increased in younger adults between 2001 to 2019, even though lifestyle risk factors affecting those adults did not increase in that period. This shows, according to the researchers, that changes in lifestyle risk factors do not explain most of the rise in cancers in younger adults between 2001 to 2019, although some of the rise was due to more younger adults being obese.

The study recommends that more research is done to explain why cancer rates are increasing in younger (20 – 49 years old) adults in the UK and in many other countries. The study also recommends that people should be encouraged and helped to avoid cancer lifestyle risk factors and in particular to maintain a healthy weight, to reduce their risk of developing cancer.

What Does This Mean For You?

Whatever your age, your lifestyle has a lot to do with your risk of developing cancer. This study has identified obesity, or being seriously overweight, as having a proven link to being at higher risk of developing cancer. So, keeping your weight in a healthy range is important. You can find resources to help you manage your weight below.

While this study has shown that there is not such a clear connection between other lifestyle risks and the causes of cancer, it is an established medical fact that reducing your lifestyle risks will reduce your risk of developing cancer. You can find resources to help you reduce your cancer risks below.

Covid & Cancer

This study looked at adults between 2001 and 2019, before the Covid pandemic, and therefore does not say anything about any link between Covid & cancer. Covid is still a new virus, and time is needed to assess and prove its effects. It will not be possible for some years to look back on the health records of people who caught Covid and show whether they experienced higher rates of cancer than people who did not catch Covid.

It is known that there are several biological means by which Covid might cause cancer, and it is not unusual for viruses to cause or be linked to cancers. For example, one study showed that Covid causes inflammation inside the body which can cause dormant cancers to become active and spread to other parts of the body. This study proved that cancer relapse rates were 1.5 times higher in cancer survivors who caught Covid compared to cancer survivors who did not catch Covid.

It is not yet possible to say that Covid causes cancer or affects cancer survival rates. However, avoiding Covid infections is a good thing to do in any case, as the virus is well-known to have many damaging impacts beyond the immediate acute symptoms.

Resources

Here are some resources and information which may help you. Click the button to visit them.

BMJ Oncology Study
Help to Manage Weight
Help Reduce Cancer Risk
Covid Risk For Cancer Survivors

Historically low Covid infection risk. Covid risk level Moderately Low at 1 in 1346. Spring Covid boosters recommended.

Covid-19 Risk Assessment: Week Ending 26 April 2026

Ben Clark

Covid infection levels in England have continued to fall and remain at the lowest levels recorded since 2020. The risk level remains Moderately Low, with 1 in every 1346 people in England infected.

This estimate is based on highly reliable data and is independently confirmed by all other available data, However, Covid has not vanished and people could still catch the virus in high-risk indoor places.

Read More
A group of disabled people protesting outside the Houses of Parliament against the Assisted Dying Bill

BuDS Welcomes Failure of Assisted Suicide Bill

admin

BuDS Disability Service has welcomed the Parliamentary failure of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill today, Friday 24 April. This Bill is commonly known as the Assisted Dying or Assisted Suicide Bill. This failure at Westminster marked the defeat of all the Suicide Bills attempted to be rushed through British parliaments by lobbyists in the last two years.

Welcoming the Parliamentary failure, BuDS said:

“The failure of the Bill is good news for dying people, for the NHS and for Britain. We say this for two main reasons:

  1. This Bill would have done nothing to address the humanitarian concerns that many people have about end-of-life care. It was a lobbyist Bill designed to introduce suicide on demand for NHS patients, something which no political party or politician had ever even mentioned before this Bill was introduced.
  2. The Bill was dangerous because it did not protect the basic human rights of British people. This was said from the start by disability and human rights groups like BuDS but was dramatically proven when the Lord Chancellor had to prevent a similar Bill, in the Isle of Man Parliament, from becoming law on these exact grounds”.

Much has been said about how this Bill has been ‘blocked’ by unscrupulous Parliamentary tactics, especially by ‘unelected Lords’. The reality is rather different. This Bill was not Government legislation, but a Private Members Bill (PMB). PMBs cannot be used to make complex and controversial legal reforms because they do not have enough Parliamentary time, even in the best of circumstances, to make such broad changes. The Terminally Ill Adults Bill was doomed to fail from the start by the incompetence of its sponsors and multimillionaire lobbyist backers, not by any Parliamentary blocking.

The passage of this Bill through Parliament has proved that the welfare of dying people and the protection of vulnerable people cannot be left to opaquely-funded, multimillionaire lobbying groups, especially those ideologically committed to suicide and euthanasia. A properly informed national conversation about end-of-life care and assisted suicide must happen before there is any future attempt at legislation. A Royal Commission or similar independent official body must now look at all the issues, consult widely, gather objective evidence and make recommendations. BuDS and other disabled-led organisations are ready to play their part in that conversation.  

A young woman in a powered wheelchair sits in front of a grey wall with plants on top. She is smiling towards the camera, and is holding a mobile phone in her left hand

Temporary Pause of the BuDDies Scheme

Ben Clark

We are sorry to have to inform our community that the BuDDies Scheme at BuDS is currently on hold. Due to ongoing challenges facing charity funding across England, we have had to make the difficult decision to temporarily pause the scheme while we seek further funding.

We understand that this news may be disappointing, and we sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused. Supporting your wellbeing remains extremely important to us, and we are committed to helping where we can during this pause.

Read More
Covid infection risk still at historic low. Covid risk level now Moderately Low at 1 in 1052. Spring Covid boosters still advised.

Covid-19 Risk Assessment: Week Ending 19 April 2026

Ben Clark

Covid infection levels in England have fallen to the lowest levels recorded since the pandemic began. The risk level is now Moderately Low, with 1 in every 1052 people in England infected. The risk from respiratory viruses, including Covid, in the community remains at its lowest ever level.

This estimate is based on highly reliable data, and the downward trend of infection levels is independently confirmed by all other available data. As a community of disabled and highly Covid-cautious people, BuDS is satisfied that Covid infection levels in England are indeed at unprecedented lows at present. However, Covid has not vanished and there is still a risk of catching the virus in high-risk indoor places.

Read More
A coloured atlas-style map of the Gulf States with a magnifying glass over Iran

The US & Israeli Conflict With Iran

Freya Clark

Post updated 10 Aoril 2026

There is now a fragile ceasefire in the US, Israeli and Iranian war, and we have taken this opportunity to update our information. Although the fighting is partly stopped, the economic impact of the war is still affecting people all over the world, including here in the UK. Disabled people, as always, are hit hardest by these impacts.

Read More
Covid infection risk still lowest ever. Covid risk level remains Moderate at 1 in 735. Everyone recommended to get vaccinated.

Covid-19 Risk Assessment: Week Ending 5 April 2026

Ben Clark

More Covid good news, as infection levels in England continue to fall. The risk level is still Moderate, with 1 in every 735 people in England infected.

This week’s NOIDS data was collected over the first Easter holiday weekend, and may be revised next week. For this reason, we are only tentatively reporting a 1 in 735 incidence. However, even if this incidence is later slightly increased, it is certain that, overall, infection levels in England have remained at their lowest level since 2021.

Read More
Screenshot from the BBC News website showing the headline "Assisted dying bill will not now become law, say both sides" over a picture of both pro- and anti-assisted dying demonstrators.

Assisted Suicide Bill In Westminster Falls

Ben Clark

More great news, as the Assisted Suicide Bill in the Westminster Parliament also falls, joining the Scottish Bill which was voted down last week.

The multimillionaire lobbyists behind these Bills are spreading an untrue story that the Westminster Bill failed because it was ‘talked out’ by opponents in the House of Lords. This story is objectively untrue for the following reasons.

Read More