A variation on this idea of an "evolved balance between death by cancer and death by frailty" is described here: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/02/opinion/sund

A variation on this idea of an "evolved balance between death by cancer and death by frailty" is described here: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/02/opinion/sunday/octopuses-and-the-puzzle-of-aging.html https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/02/opinion/sunday/octopuses-... basically that evolution favours traits that are beneficial during reproductive age, regardless of negative effects later in life