A new survey conducted by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention revealed that the number of cancer survivors in the United States is increasing a hundredfold per year, including one in every 20 adults. Health officials attributed the increase to early detection and improved treatment.

Four years ago, there were around 11.7 million Americans with a history of cancer. In 1971, there were 3 million cancer survivors. The number soared to 10 million in 2001 and to 11.4 million in 2006.

A report published in the March 11 issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report revealed that 7 million of the 11.7 million people diagnosed with cancer belonged to the 65 years old and above age bracket. More than half of the survivors were women, 22 percent of which survived from breast cancer. The report also revealed that 19 percent of the survivors were men diagnosed with prostate cancer and 10 percent survived from colon cancer.

Aside from improved treatment and early detection, health officials also considered healthy lifestyle, decrease in smoking, and other preventive measures as factors that contributed to the increase in cancer survivors. According to Dr. Peter Kozuch, a medical oncologist based in Beth Israel Medical Center, living a longer life has also contributed to the growth in the number of cancer survivors.

Dr. Kozuch also considered effective therapy methods as another factor that played a role in surviving cancer or living with the disease longer than expected. Dr. Tom Frieden, Director of the Center for Disease Prevention and Control bared that while there are unpreventable cancers, there are also those that can be treated or detected early.

The figures released by the Center for Disease Control as well as the National Cancer Institute were derived from the database of nine US cancer patient depositories. Those included in the count were people who were diagnosed with cancer but successfully treated, those who are still under treatment, and those who may be dying from cancer. Approximately 65 percent had survived for a minimum of five years and 40 percent for over 10 years.

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