Cancer is really the pest of modern times. Often people tend to believe that the amount of cancer cases has increased. And - of course - in former times there was much less cancer.
True.
But only because people died earlier. Subsequently not many cancer types would occur at those ages. Despite that even the old greek described melanoma.
The other interesting thing is: If people become older. Their peers will be more likely die of cancer. That causes imho a huge bias in the perception of cancer.
Derek Lowe writes about it in detail:
http://pipeline.corante.com/archives/2010/10/20/is_cancer_a_disease_of_the_modern_world.php
