World Health Organization Study Reveals Future Rise in Cancer is 'Human Disaster'

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The World Health Organization released its 2014 cancer report on World Cancer Day, revealing that cancer cases are expected to surge 57 percent worldwide over the next 20 years, making the epidemic an imminent "human disaster."

According to the study, one in five men and one in six women will develop cancer before the age of 75, while one in eight men and one in 12 women will die from the disease on a global scale.

However, on the bright side, WHO notes that many of these cases could be prevented with simple lifestyle changes as 30 percent of cancer deaths are caused by obesity, low fruit-and-vegetable intake, lack of physical activity, tobacco use and alcohol use. 

"It's untenable to think we can treat our way out of the cancer problem. That alone will not be a sufficient response," said Christopher Wild, the director of the WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer, according to Forbes. "More commitment to prevention and early detection is desperately needed... to complement improved treatments and address the alarming rise in the cancer burden globally."

"I know the report said we can't treat our way out of (the cancer problem) but there are major things we can do," said Dr. David Decker who works in oncology at Florida Hospital in Orlando toCNN. "Virtually 80 or 90 percent of lung cancers are caused by smoking. I know stopping smoking is not easy for people, but it does seem like a pretty simple way to reduce the numbers."

"The cancer rates are not going up for shocking reasons, but for reasons that are easier to understand, and if we improve overall health, there are things we can do to prevent this from happening," Decker continued.

Furthermore, cutting smoking rates would also have a significant impact being that lung cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer and makes up 1.8 million cases a year, or 13 percent of total cancer diagnoses.  It's the deadliest of about one-fifth or 1.6 million of all cancer deaths in the world.

The authors of the study argued that government needs to invest in prevention measures. "Governments must show political commitment to progressively step up the implementation of high-quality screening and early detection programmes, which are an investment rather than a cost."