Cancer Survivors Grew to 18 Million in the US
A new report led by researchers at the American Cancer Society (ACS) in collaboration with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) shows more than 18 million Americans (8.3 million males and 9.7 million females) with a history of cancer were living in the United States as of January 1, 2022, with a little over 12 million (67%) aged 65 years or older. The study also found substantial racial disparities in treatment and survival for common cancers. The findings were published in June 2022 as an article in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians and a companion consumer version, Cancer Treatment & Survivorship Facts & Figures 2022-2024.
To assist the public health community in better serving cancer survivors, the ACS and the NCI collaborate every three years to estimate cancer prevalence in the U.S. The most prevalent cancers are prostate (3,523,230), melanoma of the skin (760,640), and colorectal (726,450) among men and breast (4,055,770), uterine corpus (891,560), and thyroid (823,800) among women. More than one-half (53%) of survivors were diagnosed within the past 10 years.
Coping provides knowledge, hope, and inspiration to cancer survivors and their families. Here are some of our resources that can help:
Source: American Cancer Society, June 2022
