# If there was no cancer, how many years would life expectancy increase? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 29, 2009, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-there-was-no-cancer-how-many-years-would-life-expectancy-increase/508210 "2009-08-29T23:22:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![strqwert44](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a87d85/32.png) [@strqwert44](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/strqwert44)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2009, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-there-was-no-cancer-how-many-years-would-life-expectancy-increase/508210/1 "2009-08-29T23:22:06Z")
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? ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-there-was-no-cancer-how-many-years-would-life-expectancy-increase/508210/2 "2009-08-30T00:29:55Z")
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](http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/picrender.fcgi?artid=1654082&blobtype=pdf) 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 . . . ---
**Author:** ![strqwert44](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a87d85/32.png) [@strqwert44](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/strqwert44)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-there-was-no-cancer-how-many-years-would-life-expectancy-increase/508210/3 "2009-08-30T00:40:28Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-there-was-no-cancer-how-many-years-would-life-expectancy-increase/508210/4 "2009-08-30T00:44:06Z")
OK. Three years is the gain by eliminating cancer. Look at the middle column of table 22 in [this amazing PDF](http://www.cdc.gov/NCHS/data/lifetables/life89_1_4.pdf). For CV disease elimination, the gain is just over six years. Look at the continuation of Table 22 where CV disease is analysed. ---
**Author:** ![janeslogin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@janeslogin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janeslogin)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-there-was-no-cancer-how-many-years-would-life-expectancy-increase/508210/5 "2009-08-30T16:09:12Z")
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? ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-there-was-no-cancer-how-many-years-would-life-expectancy-increase/508210/6 "2009-08-30T17:21:45Z")
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”.