It’s National Cancer Survivors Day, and chances are good that you know at least one of them.
Cancer survivors now number more than 14.5 million in the United States and are expected to grow to 19 million over the next decade, a new report finds. More cancers are cured, more people are living longer with the disease and people are living longer in general, which boosts the number of cases and survivors because the risk of developing cancer rises with age.
“They’re living longer and we hope with better quality of life,” said Dr. Patricia Ganz of the University of California, Los Angeles, whose research focuses on quality-of-life issues.
The American Cancer Society’s report was released Sunday during the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the world’s largest group of specialists who treat the disease.
Here are five things to know about cancer:
GENDER’S INFLUENCE
Survival varies by gender and cancer type. For male survivors, the most common cancers they faced were prostate, followed by colorectal and melanoma. For female survivors, the most common types were breast cancer, followed by uterine and colorectal.
DIAGNOSIS TIMING
Two-thirds of today’s cancer survivors were diagnosed at least five years ago, and 15 percent were diagnosed 20 or more years ago.
CLICK HERE to read story
source: BlackDoctor.org
