Estimated US Cancer Prevalence Counts: Who Are Our Cancer Survivors in the U.S.?

Estimated United States Cancer Prevalence¹

Cancer prevalence is the number of people alive today who have been diagnosed with cancer. MORE...
Updated 05/2009
(All figures are for the United States)

In This Section:

• Definitions
• Method
• Prevalence by:
  • Estimated Number of Cancer Survivors Over Time
  • Current Age
  • Cancer Site
  • Time Since Diagnosis
• Statistical Resources

Fast Facts

• As of January 1, 2006, it is estimated that there are 11.4 million cancer survivors. This represents approximately 3.8% of the population.



• 60% of survivors are currently 65 years of age and older.



• Female Breast (23%), Prostate (20%), Colorectal (10%) and Gynecologic (9%) are the most common cancer sites.



• Approximately 14% of the 11.4 million estimated cancer survivors were diagnosed 20 or more years ago.



• View Additional Resources:
  
  SEER Cancer Statistics Review 1975-2006
  
  Cancer Query System: Cancer Prevalence Database
  
  Cancer Prevalence References

¹Data source: Horner MJ, Ries LAG, Krapcho M, Neyman N, Aminou R, Howlader N, Altekruse SF, Feuer EJ, Huang L, Mariotto A, Miller BA, Lewis DR, Eisner MP, Stinchcomb DG, Edwards BK (eds). SEER Cancer Statistics Review, 1975-2006, National Cancer Institute. Bethesda, MD, http://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2006/, based on November 2008 SEER data submission, posted to the SEER web site, 2009.