Cancer survival rates up to 64 percent in U.S.

ATLANTA – The number of cancer survivors in the United States has more than tripled to almost 10 million over the past three decades because of advances in detection and treatment, the government said Thursday.

Also, patients diagnosed between 1995 and 2000 have an estimated 64 percent chance of surviving five years, compared with a 50 percent rate – a coin toss – three decades ago, a study by National Cancer Institute and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found.

“Cancer is not necessarily a death sentence as often was seen in the past – and still is,” said Dr. Loria Pollack, CDC medical officer.

The number of cancer survivors – defined as anyone diagnosed with cancer, no matter how recently – soared from 3 million in 1971 to 9.8 million in 2001, the study found.