What Are the Survival Rates f... Health Article

For most people with small cell lung cancer, current treatments rarely cure the cancer. The same is true for most people with non-small cell lung cancer. Treatment will help ease symptoms and may improve your quality of life and help you live longer.

According to the American Cancer Society, these are the 2007 facts about lung cancer.

• The one-year survival rate (the number of people who live at least one year after their cancer is diagnosed) for lung cancer is about 42%.

• The two-year survival rate is about 25%.

• For people whose lung cancer is found and treated early with surgery, before it has spread to lymph nodes or other organs, the average 5-year survival rate is 49%. However, only 16% of people with lung cancer are diagnosed at this early stage.

• If the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes, the 5-year survival rate is 17%.