WASHINGTON — There are more cancer survivors than ever in the United States — including many who were diagnosed听after the cancer cells acquired the ability to spread.
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Those with localized or non-invasive cancer have long had high survival rates.听听 But in , the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says two out of three patients with invasive cancer are now surviving five years or more.
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“The numbers look good,” says a radiation oncologist with the Shady Grove Adventist in Rockville, Maryland.
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She notes the two most common forms of cancer in the United States also have the highest five-year survival rates:听 97 percent for prostate cancer and 88 percent for breast cancer.
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Herscher says they may have the best survival rates because there are such good screenings available, and both these forms of cancer are very treatable if caught early.
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Locally, the survival听statistics are similar to national trends, 听even though Washington, D.C. has one of the highest cancer diagnosis rates overall in the country.听
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The CDC did a听state-by-state tally on incidence rates for all types of cancer.听听 The best showing was听374 cases per 100,000 persons in New Mexico while D.C. — which was considered a state for statistics gathering —听had 509 cases per 100,000 persons.
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Still, regionwide, there are more survivors than ever.听听 And that is prompting the medical community to rethink its long term approach to dealing with cancer patients.
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“It’s kind of a paradigm shift in that we have to think about much more than getting someone through cancer treatment,” Herscher says.
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She is currently the head of the Survivorship Committee at the Aquilino Cancer Center, coordinating and keeping tabs on cancer patients after their formal course of treatment is done.
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Herscher says for many who lacked a healthy lifestyle, a diagnosis of cancer was a听“wake-up call.鈥� 听 听 She says the goal in the survivor stage is to help them heal lingering emotional and physical scars, and ease their fears about a recurrence by empowering them to take control of their health. 听
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