Cancer Prevalence: How Many People Have Cancer?

Cancer prevalence in the United States is increasing because the number of cancer survivors continues to rise. Many of these people were diagnosed 10 or more years ago, and some even longer. Learn more about what cancer prevalence is and what types of cancer are most common among cancer survivors.

What is cancer prevalence?

Cancer prevalence is the number of people alive today who have ever been diagnosed with cancer. They might have been diagnosed recently or in the past. They are all considered cancer survivors and included in cancer prevalence data. The American Cancer Society describes a cancer survivor as anyone who has ever been diagnosed with cancer, no matter where they are in the course of their disease.

Cancer prevalence is based on:

• Incidence, how often a certain cancer occurs
• Survival, how long people live after diagnosis with that cancer

For example, lung cancer is one of the most common cancers but has a lower prevalence because people don’t tend to live a long time after diagnosis. On the other hand, non-Hodgkin lymphoma is a less common cancer but has a higher prevalence because people are likely to survive longer.  

Cancer prevalence numbers

As of January 1, 2025, there are about 18.6 million cancer survivors in the US. This represents a bit more than 5% of the US population. The number of cancer survivors is expected to grow to 22 million by 2035.

The table below displays estimated numbers of survivors for the 10 most prevalent cancers in the US in January 1, 2025.

Males	Females
Prostate 3,552,460	Breast 4,305,570
Melanoma (skin) 816,580	Uterus (mostly endometrial) 945,540
Colon & rectum 729,550	Thyroid 859,890
Bladder 593,890	Melanoma (skin) 783,350
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma 464,100	Colon & rectum 714,380
Kidney 450,440	Non-Hodgkin lymphoma 415,180
Oral cavity (mouth) & pharynx (throat) 327,430	Lung 392,440
Testicles 317,930	Cervix 286,560
Leukemia 315,780	Kidney 284,090
Lung 288,010	Ovaries 244,600
All cancers 8,417,150	All cancers 10,199,840

 

These numbers are from the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Treatment & Survivorship Statistics, 2025, a collaboration with the National Cancer Institute. They do not include carcinoma in situ (non-invasive cancer) of any site except urinary bladder, or basal cell or squamous cell skin cancers.

Facts about cancer survivors

• A little more than one-half (51%) of cancer survivors were diagnosed in the past 10 years.
• About 22% of cancer survivors were diagnosed 20 or more years ago.
• Nearly 80% of cancer survivors are at least 60 years of age.