Did You Know... The Facts About Cancer Survivorship?

The terms survivor and survivorship have different meanings for different people.

What is a survivor?

One definition of a survivor is any person who has been diagnosed with cancer, whether or not they have completed treatment. Other definitions limit survivors to those who have completed treatment and are in remission. Some organizations also describe the loved ones of a person with cancer as a survivor (if you’ve been a caregiver, you know this is fitting!).

What is survivorship?

Cancer survivorship is most often defined as the process of living with, through, and beyond cancer.

The following facts may help you get a better picture of survivorship.

• There are about 18 million cancer survivors living in the United States today.
• This has increased from 3 million in 1971. The increase may be because of improved detection methods and treatments.
• Between 2000 and 2050, the number of cancer survivors over the age of 65 is expected to double as the baby boomer generation ages.
• One in every seven survivors was diagnosed over 20 years ago!
• About 2 out of every 3 people diagnosed with cancer will be alive at least 5 years after diagnosis.
• These numbers are lower in certain racial and ethnic groups. 68 out of 100  white patients diagnosed with cancer today will live more than five years, but only 61 out of 100 black patients will live more than 5 years.
• 80 out of 100 people go back to work after a cancer diagnosis, which may be challenging.
• One in five survivors will have cancer-related work limitations up to five years after diagnosis. Despite this, studies have shown little, if any, difference in the work performance of cancer survivors who go back to work. But, they often face discrimination in the workplace.
• Many survivors describe their cancer journey as a life-changing event. They often say that they have a new outlook on life.
• Treatment with surgery, chemotherapies (and other cancer treatments), and/or radiation can leave survivors at higher risk for health complications compared with their peers who have not had these treatments. You may not have certain complications for 10 or more years after treatment (these are often called late effects).
• Survivors should keep records of the treatments they had for future reference. Use OncoPilot forms to organize a treatment record.
• Survivors should make a survivorship care plan to help them identify their risk for late effects, how to monitor them, and preventive steps they can take. Use the OncoLife Survivorship Care Plan to develop a plan you can review with your healthcare team.
• Finding the resources a survivor needs can take some work, but OncoLink's survivorship section can get you started. Are you a childhood cancer survivor? OncoLink Jr. has some great resources for you.

Cancer survivorship is still a relatively new field of research. New therapies are always being developed, and we don’t know what long term issues they could cause. There is a long way to go in terms of improving outcomes for some racial and ethnic groups. We need to better educate the public to make sure survivors are not facing discrimination as a result of their diagnosis.