Overview
- Gallup’s 2024–2025 two-year average shows 9.7% of U.S. adults report having ever been diagnosed with cancer, the highest level in its record.
- The estimate comes from 40,915 adults surveyed in 2024–2025 who answered whether a doctor or nurse had ever told them they had cancer.
- Older adults report far higher lifetime diagnoses at 21.5% for those 65 and over, with the fastest increases seen among Black adults, men, and seniors.
- Cancer death rates have declined in recent years, meaning more people live longer after diagnosis, so prevalence is rising even as some new-case rates fall.
- Incidence is increasing for several cancers in younger adults, including colorectal and breast cancers under 50, which points to growing needs for long-term surveillance and care as research funding faces cuts.