Gen X and millennials 3X more likely to get appendix cancer than their parents
www.independent.co.uk
Cancer of the appendix, the small pouch-like organ attached to the large intestine that supports the immune system, affects 1 or 2 people for every million people in the U.S., according to the research.

Cancer of the appendix, the small pouch-like organ attached to the large intestine that supports the immune system, affects 1 or 2 people for every million people in the U.S., according to the research.

Archived version: https://archive.is/newest/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/appendix-cancer-gen-x-millennials-increase-b2770460.html

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  • LainTrain@lemmy.dbzer0.com
    161·
    2 days ago

    Yeah I never had appendicitis but always found it odd there are so many who do all of a sudden. If this organ was so prone to failure all the time would it have not been gone ages ago?

    • bluGill@fedia.io
      16·
      2 days ago

      Appendixes have been known medical problems for a long time. You can read books talking about it from the 1800s. One of the few things doctors could treat back then better than doing nothing (back before antibiodics and handwashing doctors were often worse than nothing)

      there were many other things that could get you bacv then so overall apendix issues were not the most common causes of death.

    • zout@fedia.io
      7·
      2 days ago

      It’s actually thought to be benificial. The old notion that it’s some remnant from before is considered wrong today, and it seems that different mammals evolved an appendix parallel to each other.

      • breecher@sh.itjust.works
        7·
        2 days ago

        I seem to remember an article saying that the appendix is used by the body to store gut bacteria, as a reserve in case the gut bacteria in the intestines are killed off by disease or something similar.

    • Raiderkev@lemmy.world
      5·
      2 days ago

      I’m one of those people. Got it randomly at age 33 or so. I did eat taco bell for the first time in a long time the night before, and I don’t think the 2 are unrelated. But yeah dude sepsis isn’t fun. Shaking uncontrollably involuntary is 100% 0/10. At 1st I was glad they cut that useless fucking time bomb out, but since then, my body is fucking terrible about managing bacterial infections. I’ve had strep, and a bunch of ear / sinus infections and taken antibiotics, but the shit will not go away. They say that they think the appendix is some kind of bacterial filter, and I’m inclined to agree. In hindsight, I wish I’d asked for an antibiotic based treatment plan since they caught it before my appendix burst, but hey, hindsight is 20/20.