Skip to content
Opinion
Lisa Jarvis

We’ve Made Huge Progress on Cancer. Let’s Protect It.

Anti-smoking campaigns and vaccines are helping more Americans avoid cancer, but we still aren't striking the right balance on screening.

HPV vaccines have dramatically reduced rates of cervical cancers.

HPV vaccines have dramatically reduced rates of cervical cancers.

Photographer: Joe Raedle/Getty Images North America
By

Let’s take a moment to celebrate some good news: Although we still don’t have a cure for cancer, we’re getting better and better at preventing and treating it.

The US has made substantial progress in in the battle against cancer, cutting the number of deaths from the disease by 33% since 1991. According to a new analysis from the American Cancer Society, that’s 3.8 million cancer deaths averted. People are living longer with cancer, too. The 5-year survival rate across all kinds of cancers has increased from 49% in the mid-1970s to 68% for someone diagnosed between 2012 and 2018.