The health service in Scotland could be "overwhelmed" by rising cancer cases, a charity has warned, as it said the number of Scots diagnosed with the disease each year could top 42,000 in less than two decades.
Cancer Research UK projected that if current trends continue, the number of cancers diagnosed in Scotland could rise from 34,100 a year to 42,100 by 2040. It also projected that over that period of time annual deaths could rise to 19,100 - up 17 per cent from the current total of 16,400.
Analysis by the charity suggested in total there could be 703,000 new cases of cancer and 321,000 cancer deaths in Scotland between 2023 and 2040 - with more than three fifths (61 per cent) of cases and over three quarters (76 per cent) of deaths taking place amongst those aged 70 and above.
