What is a cancer survival rate?
Cancer survival rates or survival statistics tell you the percentage of people who survive a certain type of cancer for a specific amount of time. Cancer statistics often use an overall five-year survival rate. For instance, the overall five-year survival rate for prostate cancer is 98 percent. That means that of all men diagnosed with prostate cancer, 98 of every 100 were living five years after diagnosis. Conversely, two out of every 100 died of prostate cancer within five years. Cancer survival rates are based on research that comes from information gathered on hundreds or thousands of people with cancer. An overall survival rate includes people of all ages and health conditions diagnosed with your cancer, including those diagnosed very early and those diagnosed very late. Your doctor may be able to give you more specific statistics based on your stage of cancer. For instance, 49 percent, or about half, of people diagnosed with early-stage lung cancer live for at least five years af
