Cancer Statistics

  • 1.4 million
    Americans diagnosed with cancer this year (projected)
  • 560,000
    Americans killed by cancer this year (projected)
  • 1,500
    Americans who die from cancer every day (approx.)
  • 1 in 2 (men)
    1 in 3 (women)
    Develop cancer at some point in their lives
  • Leading Cause of Death
    Cancer tops the list of causes of death for those younger than 85.
  • Highest Mortality Rate
    African-American men and women have the highest mortality rates for all cancer sites combined.
  • 65% of adults
    Will survive five years after being diagnosed with cancer. This is up from %50 in the 1970s.


While dramatic survival improvements have been achieved in patients diagnosed with cancer at age 15 or younger and steady progress has been made against a number of cancers common among those over age 40, little or no progress has been seen in the survival improvements of the adolescent and young adult population. In fact, among those aged 25–35 years, survival has not improved in more than two decades.
Source: American Cancer Society