These Are the Odds You’ll Get Cancer During Your Lifetime

New research could predict your risk.

Hearing “you have cancer” from your doctor is something no one wants to experience at any point in life. But shockingly, half of all adults will get a cancer diagnosis, according to a new study from the British Journal of Cancer, which predicts that one out of every two U.K. adults born in 1960 will develop the disease during their lifetime.

Broken down by gender, the numbers slightly favor women, but only because more men smoke: Men born in 1960 have a lifetime cancer risk of 53.5 percent, while the risk is 47.5 percent for women. The study forecasts a rise in cancer rates; by contrast, only one in three U.K. residents born in 1930 were projected to get cancer.

It’s scary news, but do the numbers translate across the pond here in America? They line up pretty closely, says Len Lichtenfeld, M.D., deputy chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society, with one in two men and one in three women in the U.S. expected to be diagnosed with the big C.

What You Need to Know About the Number One Cancer Killer of Women

By now, you’ve probably read or at least heard of Cheryl Strayed’s bestselling book Wild, which was recently turned into a movie starring Reese Witherspoon and Laura Dern. In it, Cheryl describes her journey hiking the Pacific Crest Trail after her mom’s death at age 45 to lung cancer.

Because of this, Cheryl has always been passionate about educating others about the disease. That’s why she recently partnered with Lung Force, a new national movement led by the American Lung Association (ALA) to raise both awareness and research funds. And at this year's Oscars, she and Laura promoted Lung Force by wearing turquoise (the color of the organization).

We had the chance to speak with the author about what she wishes all women knew about lung cancer, why this partnership is so important to her, and more.

The surprising lung cancer fact she wants all women to know: “I had no idea when my mom was diagnosed that it was the number one cancer killer of women,” says Cheryl, whose mom died 24 years ago. What’s more, it’s actually the leading cancer killer in both men and women and causes more deaths than colon, breast, and pancreatic cancers combined, according to the ALA. “Whenever I tell people that lung cancer is the number one cancer killer of women, they’re never not surprised,” says Cheryl.