One in two people in the UK will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lives, according to a new forecast by Cancer Research UK. This estimate replaces previous figures which predicted that more than one in three people would develop a cancer at some point.

The shift is because we are all living longer and cancer is primarily a disease of old age – more than 65% of cancers are diagnosed in people over 65. With longer life expectancy the number of diagnosed cases of cancer is expected to rise.

The good news is that cancer survival rates have more than doubled over the past 40 years, and around half of patients now survive the disease for more than 10 years – although this can depend on the type of cancer.

There is a lot you can do to make it less likely you get cancer, like giving up smoking, being more active, drinking less alcohol and maintaining a healthy weight. As is often the case, prevention is better than the cure…

Ask your pharmacist about steps you can take to improve your general health.