7 in 10 Cancer Patients Now Survive 5+ Years

Cathy Smithwick has been living with cancer for over 20 years, hiking the Himalayas and planning her fourth trip to Kenya this summer.

The 67-year-old California woman has battled both breast and ovarian cancer using a rotation of targeted drugs that attack her tumors' specific genetic mutations. When one therapy stops working, doctors test her cancer for new markers and switch to another treatment tailored to what they find.

Smithwick represents a growing reality in American medicine. The American Cancer Society estimates 18 million Americans who have ever had cancer are alive today, and a record 7 out of 10 patients now survive at least five years.

That's a dramatic jump from less than half in the 1970s, when chemotherapy that killed all fast-growing cells was the only option. The turning point came in the mid-1990s when scientists began developing drugs designed to specifically damage cancer cells based on their genetic signatures.

Michelle Vacca is another example of this revolution. The 59-year-old office manager was diagnosed with lung cancer nearly a decade ago despite never smoking.

After standard treatments failed, doctors at City of Hope discovered her cancer carried an extremely rare mutation found in only 2% of lung cancers. They enrolled her in a trial for an experimental drug targeting that exact genetic change.

"It's still working for me," Vacca said. "I don't really have any side effects. It hasn't stopped me from traveling to K-pop concerts."

Recent cancer research presented in Chicago showed deaths among people ages 15 to 49 have dropped 25% since 1990. New drugs are extending lives for pancreatic, skin, and blood cancers that were once nearly impossible to treat.

The key is testing. Clinical trials that select patients based on specific genetic markers have nearly doubled the success rate compared to unselected trials.

When Smithwick's sister was diagnosed with breast cancer years after her own diagnosis, genetic testing revealed Smithwick carried the BRCA1 mutation associated with cancer risk. That knowledge helped doctors choose more effective treatments as her cancer evolved.

Why This Inspires

These stories show cancer is increasingly becoming a chronic condition people manage rather than a death sentence they face. Smithwick completed a 4-mile climb in Bhutan last November. Vacca travels the country for concerts.

Both women continue living full lives because scientists spent decades unraveling cancer's biological mysteries. Each new drug approval creates options for patients whose tumors develop resistance to earlier treatments.

Doctors now emphasize testing every cancer for its complete genomic profile to match patients with the most effective therapies. The approach means patients like Smithwick can cycle through multiple treatments as their cancer changes, buying years or decades of quality life.

Rebecca Siegel, who leads surveillance research at the American Cancer Society, expects survival rates to keep climbing as more targeted therapies reach patients.