On June 5, 2022, people around the world will celebrate National Cancer Survivors Day®, a time set aside to recognize cancer survivors, raise awareness of the ongoing challenges these individuals face because of their disease, and celebrate life.1 A cancer survivor can be defined as anyone who has a history of cancer, from diagnosis through treatment and the remainder of life.1,2 The American Cancer Society, the National Cancer Institute, and many other organizations focus a great deal of their efforts on helping cancer survivors manage any ongoing physical, psychosocial, and functional problems related to their disease and treatments, and promoting cancer survivor health and quality of life.3 How much do you know about cancer survivorship?
As of January 1, 2019, there were approximately 16.9 million cancer survivors in the United States, a number that is projected to rise to 22.2 million by 2030.1-3 This increase in survivors can be attributed to a growing and aging population, as well as improvements in survival due to changes in early detection practices and advances in treatment.3,4 The 5-year relative survival rate for all cancers combined has increased significantly since the early 1960s, from 39% to 68% among Caucasians and from 27% to 63% among African Americans.3 With the reignition of the Cancer Moonshot and its new goals to reduce the death rate from cancer by at least 50% over the next 25 years, the importance of understanding cancer survivorship and its impact on patients and families needs to remain a priority to improve patient quality of life.5
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