Recent Episodes
Cancer in the US
The American Cancer Society’s newest report on cancer in the US shows cancer is the second leading cause of death. That may sound bad, but there’s progress. That doesn’t sound like progress, Dave.
It’s true, cancer is still a killer but during the past 10 years, cancer death rates began to fall about 1.5% percent every year: Thanks to early detection, advances in research, and new therapies. Yes, I know and the 5-year survival rate is possible for 70% of cancer cases, up from just 50% in the 1970s. So, even though a cancer diagnosis is devastating, you have a high chance of surviving it today.
But for cancer deaths to continue to fall, we need to fund research including mRNA technology that is being used to create personalized cancer vaccines. It’s how we have a chance to cure cancer rather than just fighting it. The National Cancer Institute estimates cancer costs patients $21 billion in out of pocket costs every year, and total costs in 2020 were more than $200 billion. mRNA technology can create more affordable treatments.
We need to restore federal funding for research and combine that with more robust standards for air pollution, water quality, and worker safety. Tackling cancer should come from every direction and we see that being compromised. But we have faith in the people working in medicine and science to restore a rigorous public health infrastructure, and we’ll continue to write about these issues.
More Information
ACS Annual Statistics Report: Milestone 70 Percent 5-Year Survival Rate for all Cancers Combined; Largest Gains for Advanced and Fatal Cancers
This report marks the 75th year American Cancer Society researchers have analyzed and disseminated cancer data to help improve public health. The new findings show, for the first time, the five-year relative survival rate for all cancers combined reached 70% for people diagnosed during 2015-2021 in the United States.
American Cancer Society Cancer Facts & Figures 2026
The 5-year relative survival rate for all cancers combined
has reached a milestone 70% for people diagnosed from
2015 to 2021, up from 49% in the mid-1970s.
Relative survival is a measure of life expectancy among
people with cancer compared to that among the general
population of the same age, race, and sex.
National Cancer Institute Cancer Trends Progress Report
Advances in the ways that cancer is diagnosed and treated have increased the number of people who live for long periods of time after a cancer diagnosis. This report looks at trends in 5-year survival rates for cancer, a common timeframe used by statisticians to measure survival rates.
