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Survival Rate Increases Among Cancer Patients

Actor Ken Jeong, left, and his wife, Tran Ho, are pictured with their two children in this undated photo. Ho, whose story is documented in "Cancer: The Emperor of all Maladies," was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer.
Cancer: The Emperor of all Maladies
Actor Ken Jeong, left, and his wife, Tran Ho, are pictured with their two children in this undated photo. Ho, whose story is documented in "Cancer: The Emperor of all Maladies," was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer.

Survival Rate Increases Among Cancer Patients
How San Diego Cancer Treatments Are Creating New Survivors GUESTS:Kay Clark, health programs manager, American Cancer Society in San Diego. She is also a breast cancer survivor. Dr. Eric Roeland, oncologist and palliative care provider, UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center

New cancer treatments bring hope that more people diagnosed with cancer will survive. But does that mean a cure or a lifetime of cancer-fighting drugs and careful monitoring?

Cancer kills more than half a million Americans each year, making it the second leading cause of death in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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The American Cancer Society expects there to be an estimate 1.6 million new cancer cases in 2015.

Despite these statistics, cancer patients are living longer with the disease. The five-year survival rate for all cancers diagnosed between 2004 and 2010 was 68 percent — up from 49 percent between 1975 to 1977, according to the American Cancer Society.

Kay Clark, a health programs manager at the American Cancer Society in San Diego, was diagnosed with breast cancer 22 years ago. She said treatments have changed since she was diagnosed.

RELATED: The Latest In Cancer Research And Treatment In San Diego

"I think that treatments and breast cancer itself keeps changing," Clark told KPBS Midday Edition on Tuesday. "It is a very difficult disease. Any cancer can change along the course."

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She said surviving — or thriving with cancer, as some may say — means "being vigilant about taking care of yourself."

Dr. Eric Roeland, an oncologist and palliative care provider at UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center, said the center is working on developing guidelines of what survivorship looks like. The guidelines offer information about what it means to survive from cancer and redefining one's role as a cancer patient.

"Thriving is a very real possibility," Roeland said. "It's important to be optimistic and focus on hope but it's also important to be informed."

The documentary, "Cancer: The Emperor of all Maladies," tells the story of cancer treatment and the research that is happening today. It airs at 9 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday on KPBS TV.

Survival Rate Increases Among Cancer Patients