If cancer was eradicated via whatever means, how many years would life expectancy increase on average from the current 70-something years?
I’d guessing not that much…probably only a couple of years but does anyone know?
I was taught (in med school FWIW) that the life expectancy gain by eliminating cancer would be two to three years, just as you predicted. This old PDF article seems to agree, but gives an enexpectedly huge gain (appx 12 years) in life expectancy if cardiovascular disease was eliminated. That doesn’t make a lot of sense since CV disease kills “only” at twice the rate of cancer (IIRC). So, perhaps the article needs to be taken with a grain of salt.
Let me keep looking . . .
I’m thinking that the article does make sense as I’d presume the median age at death from heart disease is a lot younger than cancer.
IMO if you miss getting into an accident or heart disease, you’re probably good until your 70s.
OK. Three years is the gain by eliminating cancer. Look at the middle column of table 22 in this amazing PDF.
For CV disease elimination, the gain is just over six years. Look at the continuation of Table 22 where CV disease is analysed.
And a follow up question: if my life expectancy is increased by two or three years how much will that cost me in other medical expenses?
That’s a whole nother question, in terms of quality of life. I would imagine it would actually be cheaper, as cancer is very expensive.
ETA - as opposed to, say, pneumonia, the “Old Man’s Friend”.