CANCER IN THE UNITED STATES 2009

OVERVIEW 

 

• In 2009, approximately 1,479,350 people will be diagnosed with cancer in the United States, 

and it will claim the lives of an estimated 562,340 people.  

 

• The probability that a person will be diagnosed with cancer in his or her lifetime is 

approximately one in two for men and one in three for women. 

 

• In the United States, cancer causes one in every four deaths each year. It is the second most 

common cause of death in the United States, after heart disease. 

 

• Cancer death rates have been decreasing steadily over the last 15 years. The cancer death rate 

decreased by an average of 1.1 percent a year from 1993 through 2002 and by an average of 

1.8 percent from 2002 through 2005.1  

 

• The five-year relative survival rate for all cancers diagnosed between 1996 and 2004 was 66 

percent, up from 50 percent between 1975 and 1977.  

 

• NCI estimates that there were approximately 11.1 million cancer survivors in the United 

States in 2005, up from 3 million in 1970.  

 

• Lack of health insurance is an important barrier to early cancer detection and treatment. 

Uninsured patients are nearly twice as likely to die from cancer within five years as those 

with private health coverage and are more likely to be diagnosed with advanced stages of 

cancer. 

 

PREVENTION 

 

Many cancer cases and deaths are preventable. Tobacco use will account for approximately 

169,000 cancer deaths in 2009, primarily from lung cancer. Evidence suggests that 

approximately one-third of cancer deaths in 2009 will be related to lifestyle factors (e.g. 

nutrition, physical inactivity, obesity) and are preventable.  

 

DETECTION 

 

Regular screenings for cancers of the breast, colon, rectum, cervix, prostate, testis, oral cavity 

and skin, as well as self-examinations for cancers of the breast and skin, can help detect cancer at 

an earlier stage. For cancers of the breast, colon, rectum and cervix, early detection has been 

proven to reduce mortality.