Cancer: Not a Death Sentence

The number of cancer survivors has grown significantly over the last 40 years. Thanks to improvements in early detection, better diagnostic methods, more effective treatments, and better treatment follow-up, a cancer diagnosis does not necessarily mean that death is near.

In 1971, there were 3 million cancer survivors in the U.S. By 2001, this number grew to 9.8 million survivors and there were 11.7 million cancer survivors in 2007. Cancer can seem like a death sentence, but more and more people are beating the disease.

dailyRx Insight: Medical advances have increased ability to survive cancer.

A cancer survivor is defined as anyone who has been diagnosed with cancer and still living after a certain amount of time, usually from the time of diagnosis through the balance of his or her life. Cancer survival is often measured as a five year survival rate.

The most common cancers among survivors were breast, prostate, and colorectal cancers. Nearly 65 percent of cancer survivors had lived for more than 5 years after their diagnosis.

Using data from nine Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) programs, researchers from the National Cancer Institute and the CDC updated the current cancer survival statistics. In addition to finding overall increases in cancer survival rates, the researchers found that nearly 60 percent of cancer survivors were 65 years of age and older. Over 67 percent of people who had lived with cancer for more than 15 years were women.

Cancer is diagnosed in over 12 million people each year, and kills over 7 million. It is the largest cause of death in the developing world, and one out of everY three people will be diagnosed with an invasive cancer at some point in their lifetime. Cancer is a group of diseases classified by abnormal and uncontrolled cellular growth in a particular organ or tissue type in the body. When the growth invades other tissues, causes damage to them, or spreads to different parts of the body it is considered malignant. Cancer is caused by a multitude of factors including genetics and infections, but a majority of cancers can be attributed to environmental causes, such as smoking, and being exposed to carcinogens or radiation. Symptoms of cancer are variable. In some cases, the cancer will produce symptoms that affect the organ it is located in, such as coughing and shortness of breath from a lung cancer, constipation and bloody stools from colon cancer, or headaches and cognitive problems from a brain cancer. Other cancers such as leukemia and blood cancers may produce flu-like symptoms and sudden infections. Some cancers may be discovered by a lump, or physical evidence, such as in breast cancer. Treatment for cancer is usually one of or a combination of surgery to remove it, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. Newer treatments such as hormonal drugs and targeted drugs are making cancer treatment even more specific to the patient and the disease. Diagnosis is based off of physical examination and several imaging techniques such as MRI, PET scan, and laparoscopy. Definitive diagnosis is achieved when a piece of cancerous tissue is examined by a pathologist.

The report appears online in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.