Five-Year Cancer Survival Rate is At An All-Time High — Even for Deadly Cancers

No matter which side of the political spectrum you sit on, good news can feel hard to come by these days — which is why the most recent annual report from the American Cancer Society is such a boon.

Released in mid-January, the ACS’s Cancer statistics, 2026 report offers an unobjectionably lovely statistic: For the very first time, the five-year survival rate of all cancers reached 70% for diagnoses made between 2015 and 2021 (up from 63% in the mid-1990s). What’s more, the largest gains were among patients with high-mortality cancers and advanced diagnoses, such as liver cancer, lung cancer and others.

Cancer deaths are going down

The ACS estimates that some 4.8 million cancer-related deaths have been averted since 1991, due to both lifestyle and behavioral changes (like less smoking) and improving care technologies (earlier detection and better treatment options). Recent studies suggest weight-loss drugs like Ozempic, whose use has skyrocketed, could also be reducing the risk of several obesity-associated cancers .

Those improvements are also evident, the ACS says, in the improved five-year survival rate mentioned above.

Along with the overall 70% five-year survival rate among patients diagnosed with any cancer between 2015 and 2021, the five-year survival rate for those with regional-stage cancers was 69%, while those with distant-stage (metastatic) cancers saw a five-year survival rate of 35%. Those figures are up from 63%, 54%, and 17%, respectively, since the mid-1990s.

High-mortality and advanced-diagnosis cancers that made the highest survival gains include:

Still, the ACS reminds readers that cancer is the second-leading cause of death in the U.S. and the leading cause of death in people under the age of 85. And even as mortality rates improve, the incidence rates of certain types of cancers are actually increasing — especially in younger adults. (Last year’s ACS report pointed to increases specifically in younger women.)

In addition, disparities in access to care across socioeconomic, racial, and ethnic demographics persist, along with post-pandemic delays in screenings that could put some patients in danger.

Preventing — and paying for — a cancer diagnosis

While the increased survival rate is, of course, great news, a cancer diagnosis can still be scary — and expensive. That’s why choosing the best health insurance plan is so important, especially for existing cancer patients. (The same goes for those on Medicare, too.)

Those five-year survival rates are owed, in large part, to high-tech, high-cost treatments, which can add up to staggering bills even after insurance. In fact, many hospitals regularly recommend crowdfunding to their patients to cover the expenses of life-saving care.

Making sure you book your annual wellness visit — which can help alert your care team to any early signs of cancer — is also critical. Cancers caught early are, in general, far more treatable than those that go undetected until they’re more advanced. A physical costs an average of about $331 without insurance, but is generally covered for free on most health insurance plans. That means it’s a totally free way to get ahead of what could be a costly and disruptive, even if survivable, diagnosis.