From 1946 to 1964, the world saw the biggest explosion of newborn children it has ever seen since the beginning of mankind. The baby boomers have impacted the 20th Century with entertainment, business and style and as we enter the new millennium, the aging baby boomers will continue to be of huge importance. As the largest and wealthiest generation of all time, the boomers could have a highly positive effect on the industries that cater to them in terms of the advancements in technology, research and product quality as they continue to age. Higher funding for extensive research and improvements for treatments and cures of common causes of death among the elderly like cancer and stroke, and professional nursing services for the elderly at homes and institutions can benefit not only the baby boomer generation, but also the parents of the boomers as well as future generations to come. .
According to a study done by SRI Consulting's, prostate cancer in the United States will rise by 35% in the next 10 years, lung cancer and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma will increase by 30% among women, and skin melanoma and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma will grow by 50% among men. These trends, according to the SRIC, will affect people reaching an age of 65 and over by 2011 at a higher rate compared to people of the same age before 2011, since the oldest boomers turn 65 in 2011 (Key, Marble 14). Although it is unfortunate that there shall be more cancer patients as the baby boomers continue to age, it can only encourage more support for funding cancer research. Cancer research has had strong support from disease specific charity organizations, non-disease specific funding bodies and the pharmaceutical industry but stroke, another common (but not as common as cancer) disease affecting elderly people, has received less support for research due to the lower mortality rate of the disease (Rothwell 1612). .
Although the mortality rate of stroke patients is low, stroke survivors are more likely to suffer from dementia and epilepsy, which require further medical attention.