🌅 More People Are Surviving Cancer

Author

Sunrise Stat
January 22, 2026

70% - The five-year cancer survival rate in the U.S.

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WHAT TO KNOW

  • The five-year cancer survival rate in the U.S. has reached 70% for the first time ever, marking a new milestone in the fight against cancer. The figure, outlined in the American Cancer Society’s latest annual report, is based on diagnoses from 2015 to 2021, and represents a dramatic increase from 49% in the mid-1970s and 63% in the mid 1990s.

WHY IT MATTERS

  • The survival gains made since the mid-1990s are especially notable for people diagnosed with more fatal cancers, including myeloma (a type of blood cancer; survival rate increased from 32% to 62% today), liver cancer (7% to 22%), and lung cancer (15% to 28%). Survival rates improved across most cancer types, with the highest rates found for thyroid (98% survival rate), prostate (98%), testis (95%), and melanoma (95%). Survival is lowest for cancers of the lung (28%), liver (22%), esophagus (22%), and pancreas (13%).

CONNECT THE DOTS

  • The report attributes the increase in survival to decades of cancer research leading to improved treatments and earlier detection, as well as greater access to screenings and lower smoking rates. Earlier this year, the Trump administration made unprecedented cuts to scientific funding, taking away millions of dollars earmarked for health research, including cancer studies.