Cancer survival rates are rising across the country, but social and economic barriers are leaving some behind

American Cancer Society 2026 Cancer Statistics Reportreleased Tuesday, marks a milestone in cancer survival rates in the US. For the first time, the annual report shows that 70% of Americans diagnosed with cancer can expect to live at least five years, compared to just 49% in the mid-1970s.

The new findings, based on data from national cancer registries and mortality statistics from 2015 to 2021, also show promising progress in survival rates for people with the deadliest, most advanced and most difficult-to-treat cancers compared to rates from the mid-1990s. The five-year survival rate for myeloma, for example, nearly doubled (from 32% to 62%). The survival rate for liver cancer tripled (from 7% to 22%), for late-stage lung cancer it almost doubled (from 20% to 37%), and for both melanoma and breast cancer it more than doubled (from 16% to 35% and from 8% to 18%, respectively).

For all cancers, the five-year survival rate has doubled since the mid-1990s, rising from 17% to 35%.

This also represents a 34% decrease in cancer deaths since 1991, which translates to an estimated 4.8 million cancer deaths between 1991 and 2023. These important public health advances are the result of years of public investment in research, early detection and prevention, and improvements in cancer treatment, according to the report.

“This remarkable victory is due in large part to decades of cancer research that has given doctors the tools to treat the disease more effectively, turning many cancers from a death sentence to a chronic disease,” said Rebecca Siegel, chief scientific officer at the American Cancer Society and lead author of the report.

As more and more people survive cancer, quality of life after treatment is also increasingly being looked at. Patients, families and caregivers face physical, financial and emotional challenges. Dr. William Dahut, the chief scientific officer of the American Cancer Society, said that continuous innovation must be accompanied by better support services and policies, so that all survivors – not just the privileged ones – can “have more days, but better days.”

Indeed, the report also shows that not everyone has benefited equally from the progress of the past few decades. Native Americans and Alaskans now have the highest cancer death rates in the country, with deaths from kidney, liver, stomach and cervical cancer nearly twice that of white Americans.

Additionally, Black women are more likely to die from breast and ovarian cancer than non-Black women – and Black men have the highest cancer rates of any area of ​​the American population. The report links these inequalities in survival to long-standing problems such as income inequality and the effects of past discrimination, such as rezoning, which affects where people live – forcing previously disadvantaged people to be disproportionately exposed to environmental pathogens.

Dr. René Javier Sotelo, a urologic oncologist at Keck Medicine of USC, notes that the fight against cancer in Southern California, in the midst of long-standing divisions facing vulnerable communities, is about overcoming educational, cultural and socioeconomic barriers.

Although access to care and insurance options in Los Angeles is strong, many disparities persist because community members often lack critical information about risk factors, screening and early warning signs. “We must emphasize the importance of education and testing,” said Sotelo. He stressed that making services, helplines and culturally relevant items easily available to everyone is important.

He cites penile cancer as a stark example: high rates among Latino men in LA, not because of lack of access, but because of gaps in awareness and education about HPV vaccination and hygiene.

Despite this persistent disparity, the remarkable nationwide improvement in cancer survival is undoubtedly good news, bringing renewed hope to many individuals and families. However, the report also offers a stark warning: Proposed government cuts to cancer research and health insurance could halt or reverse these important gains.

“We will not stop now,” warned Shane Jacobson, CEO of the American Cancer Society.

“We have to understand that we are not there yet,” Sotelo admitted. “Cancer is still a problem.”