According to the National Cancer Institute, approximately 40% of all U.S. adults will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lives.
This sobering statistic begs a few questions:
What’s the probability of surviving cancer post-diagnosis?
How does surviving cancer affect life expectancy?
Unfortunately, there aren’t any hard and fast answers to these pressing questions. Life expectancy, both in patients and survivors, varies widely according to a complicated web of factors like cancer type, treatment methods, lifestyle considerations, genetics, and many more.
However, just because it’s a complicated topic doesn’t necessarily mean it’s impossible to form an idea, however vague, of the life expectancy implications of cancer. This article will apply data-driven trends to some of the big questions surrounding cancer life expectancy, briefly introducing this mountainous topic.
Is Cancer a Leading Cause of Death?
Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States annually, sitting firmly behind heart disease and in front of accidents, strokes, and chronic lower respiratory diseases.
The deadly disease falls into five primary categories, further branching into 200 unique types. Cancer classifications are based on where the disease starts (lung, breasts, prostate, etc.) or which types of cells they affect.
As a leading cause of death in the United States (and globally), it’s imperative to understand the implications of a cancer diagnosis on life expectancy.
Stages of Cancer Explained
The effects of cancer on life expectancy correspond to the severity and stage of the diagnosis. Cancer severity segments into five stages, from stage zero to stage four.
Stage zero represents the early detection of cancer cells before extensive growth or spread and is the best-case scenario because they’re highly treatable.
On the other end of the spectrum, stage four cases imply the disease has spread from the point of origin to other parts of the body, complicating treatment options and significantly lowering survival rates.
- Stage 0 – Abnormalities Detected
- Stage 1 – Early Stage
- Stage 2 – Localized
- Stage 3 – Regional Spread
- Stage 4 – Distant Spread
The Big Picture – Cancer Deaths by Type (2019)
According to The Institute for Health Metrics & Evaluation (IHME), the five most deadly cancers in the United States in 2019 were:
- Tracheal, Bronchus, and Lung Cancer
- Colon and Rectum Cancer
- Pancreatic Cancer
- Breast Cancer
- Prostate Cancer
The least deadly types of cancer using the same parameters were:
- Other Pharynx Cancer
- Thyroid Cancer
- Hodgkin Lymphoma
- Nasopharynx Cancer
- Testicular Cancer
Approximately 774,000 people passed away from cancer in 2019 across all types. While looking at cancer deaths by type provides a glimpse into the severity and significance of individual diagnoses, it falls short of clear life expectancy implications.
For instance, breast cancer claimed nearly two and a half times more lives than brain cancer in 2019, but brain cancer is still considered more deadly because of the ratio between total cases and deaths.
Therefore, a better way to approach the question of life expectancy as it pertains to cancer is to look at the 5-year cancer survival rates.
5-Year Cancer Survival Rates in the U.S.
The 5-year cancer survival rate is the probability of surviving a given type of cancer five years after diagnosis. This statistic helps paint a more accurate, comprehensive picture of short-term life expectancies for each cancer type.
According to data from the National Cancer Institute (you can find a complete list of 5-year survival rates here), the cancer types with the highest 5-year survival rates in the U.S. are:
- Thyroid – 98.4%
- Prostate – 96.8%
- Testicular – 95%
- Skin Melanoma – 93.7%
- Breast – 90.6%
Conversely, the cancer types with the lowest 5-year survival rates are:
- Liver – 20.8%
- Esophageal – 20.6%
- Gallbladder – 20.4%
- Mesothelioma – 11.7%
- Pancreatic – 11.5%
Suppose you pair the above survival rate lists with the fact that 18% of all cancer survivors lived 20 or more years after their diagnosis, and 64% of cancer survivors are 65 and older. In that case, a clearer understanding of generalized life expectancy emerges.
It’s worth noting here that many of the health complications and challenges cancer survivors face stem from cancer treatment, like chemotherapy and radiotherapy, rather than from the lingering side effects of cancer alone.
While a heavy and often bleak topic, the life expectancy of cancer patients and survivors has seen stark improvements over the last 50 years. Advancements in treatment and early detection played a significant role in increasing the 5-year relative survival rate from 49% in the 1970s to 68% in 2021, a remarkable 19% improvement that bodes well for the overall outlook of those impacted by cancer.
Are you ready to lean into life expectancy?
That’s great to hear! Our team at Life Expectancy Calculator is committed to using the latest research and data to ensure our models are as accurate and reliable as possible.
So, try our calculator the next time you’re curious about how long you might live. We promise it’s more empowering than unsettling.
Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for more posts on life expectancy and its many interesting rabbit holes.
