Advances in targeted cancer therapies and precision medicine are allowing a growing number of patients to live longer with cancer, according to experts and data presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting.

The American Cancer Society estimates that about 18 million Americans who have ever been diagnosed with cancer are currently alive, while approximately 70% of cancer patients now survive at least five years after diagnosis, a significant improvement from previous decades.

Researchers attribute much of this progress to a better understanding of cancer biology and the development of treatments designed to attack specific genetic mutations or proteins that drive tumor growth.

The article highlights the experiences of patients such as Cathy Smithwick and Michelle Vacca, who have lived with cancer for many years thanks to a combination of targeted therapies, hormone treatments, chemotherapy, and experimental drugs.

Smithwick has managed breast and ovarian cancers for more than two decades, while Vacca has lived with lung cancer for nearly ten years and continues to respond well to an investigational treatment aimed at a rare genetic mutation.

Experts say that modern clinical trials increasingly focus on patients whose tumors carry specific genetic markers, improving the chances that new therapies will be effective.New drugs targeting difficult cancer-driving mutations are also helping patients overcome resistance to earlier treatments.

Although cancer remains one of the leading causes of death, researchers expect survival rates to continue improving as genomic testing becomes more comprehensive and treatment strategies become more personalized.

At the same time, healthcare providers are expanding survivorship research to better understand and support the long-term needs of people living with cancer.