Although there is no cure for cancer yet, detecting and treating the disease at an early stage can greatly improve a person’s future prospects. Cancers with the highest 5-year survival rates are melanoma, Hodgkin lymphoma, breast cancer, prostate cancer, testicular, cervical, and thyroid cancer.
Cancer is a disease that causes cells to grow and multiply out of control in certain parts of the body. It can start in one part of the body and then spread to other areas. Therefore, cancer can have serious repercussions on surrounding tissues and organs.
Successful treatment can remove all signs of cancer from a person’s body. Doctors call this remission. However, cancer can return after recovery, sometimes after several years. Cancer treatment means complete elimination of the disease without its recurrence. Although it can occur in some people, there is currently no specific treatment for the cancer.
Many factors influence the likelihood of successful cancer treatment, including the type of cancer. To understand differences in outlook between types of cancer, researchers often use a statistic called the 5-year survival rate. This number indicates the percentage of people who survive for 5 years after a cancer diagnosis. The 5-year survival rate does not indicate whether treatment has eliminated all signs of cancer, but it is useful for comparing the relative severity of different types of cancer. It is important to remember that many other factors influence survival, such as how early doctors detect disease. To provide a more accurate estimate of the cancer’s prognosis, doctors can also refer to 5-year survival rates. Relative survival rates compare people with a particular disease to those in the general population who do not have that disease. They take into account that other factors may have an impact on survival.
In this article, we look at the six types of cancer that have the highest five-year survival rates. These survival rates are mainly for cancers that doctors diagnose at an early stage.
1. Breast cancer
The 5-year survival rate for stage 0 and 1 breast cancer is 88%. Stages describe the size and location of the tumor. Stage 0 corresponds to the growth of abnormal cells in the breast tissue or in the lobules of the breast. At this stage, doctors do not consider it cancerous, but it may indicate very early signs of cancer.
Breast cancer in the first stage is characterized by the presence of small tumors:
It is usually less than 2 cm (cm) in size.
It has not spread to another area of the body.
Doctors can isolate and treat these types of breast cancer before it develops into more serious forms of cancer.
2. Prostate cancer
Prostate cancers have a 5-year relative survival rate of 94%. In stages I and II, prostate cancers grow very slowly or not at all, and they are very easy to treat. Prostate cancers that do not increase in size over time will be monitored to see if they are increasing in size or spreading.
3. Testicular cancer
The 5-year survival rate for testicular cancer is 80-90% for tumors in situ, that is, those in the testicles. In the early stages of testicular cancer, doctors may remove one or both testicles to treat the disease. Excision of the testicles is an effective form of treatment. However, it is significantly less beneficial when the cancer has spread.
4. Thyroid cancer
The 5-year survival rate for thyroid cancer is 100% for stages 1 and 2. The thyroid gland is a gland in the neck that produces hormones to support healthy body functions.
Most thyroid cancers grow slowly, which allows more time for treatment. Even when cancer has spread to the tissues surrounding the throat, thyroidectomy can be an effective way to remove it.
5. Skin cancer
Melanoma has a 5-year relative survival rate of about 93% in stage I. Melanoma is skin cancer, and its survival rate is high because it is easy to detect in this part of the body. It is often possible to identify and treat skin cancer in the early stages of its progression, which increases a person’s chances of survival. However, without early detection, melanoma can spread below the surface of the skin and become difficult to remove.
6. Hodgkin lymphoma
Hodgkin lymphoma has a 5-year relative survival rate of about 92-95% for stages 1 and 2. Hodgkin lymphoma has a high relative survival rate because it responds well to radiotherapy. This means that the survival rate remains high for people with more advanced forms of this cancer. In contrast, other types of lymphoma do not respond to treatment as well.
To remember:
There is currently no cure for cancer. However, successful treatment can lead to the cancer returning to remission, meaning all signs of it disappear. Finding and treating cancer early can greatly improve a person’s chances of recovery and future prospects.
