Cancer Centers Expand Survivorship Care and Infrastructure as U.S. Survival Rate Hits 70%

In 2025, the five-year cancer survival rate in the U.S. reached 70% for the first time — a milestone that translates to about 18.6 million cancer survivors. The growing cancer survivor population is pushing health systems to rethink what happens after active treatment ends, with many investing in survivorship programs and expanding oncology infrastructure.

"Cancer care can no longer be designed around treatment alone. We must intentionally redesign oncology as a continuum of care, where survivorship is not an afterthought but a core clinical strategy," the CEO of City of Hope told Becker's.

With the number of cancer survivors in the United States exceeding 18 million and projected to surpass 22 million by 2035, innovative and scalable approaches to survivorship care are urgently needed. Advanced practice providers (APPs) are increasingly being used to deliver comprehensive clinical survivorship care. APPs are uniquely qualified for this role because their training emphasizes patient-centered care, health promotion, chronic disease management, patient education and interdisciplinary coordination — core elements of survivorship practice.

"Health systems need to recognize that the story isn't over," the director of cancer rehabilitation and survivorship at Cedars-Sinai told Becker's, noting that for many survivors the real distress begins the day active treatment ends.

Traditional models of survivorship care — ranging from discharging patients back to primary care clinicians with limited specialist involvement to retaining patients indefinitely within oncology clinics — are insufficient to meet the complexity of survivors' needs or the scale of the growing survivor population. Survivors face risks and challenges beyond cancer recurrence, including late and long-term treatment effects, secondary malignancies, psychosocial concerns, functional decline and complex health promotion needs.

At AdventHealth Cancer Institute, the organization is working toward a survivorship model that delivers the same level of coordinated, whole-person support after treatment as patients receive during active oncology care. The approach includes strengthening the role of advanced practice providers, nurse navigators, social workers, rehabilitation specialists, primary care providers and other multidisciplinary team members in supporting long-term surveillance, symptom management, wellness and psychosocial needs.

"Survivorship should not feel like a handoff," the vice president of AdventHealth Cancer Institute said. "Our goal is to create more structured transitions, clearer care plans and more reliable follow-up pathways."

Modern oncology is also shifting its focus from not just extending life but also enhancing quality of life during and after treatment. For patients with lung cancer, lymphoma, and leukemia, treatments can be long, demanding and exhausting for both the patient and the caregiver. Advanced therapies including immunotherapy and targeted therapies can help patients maintain their energy and independence.

Health systems in the U.S. are also doubling down on their oncology infrastructure commitments, with at least 16 health systems spending more than $4 billion on cancer care service expansions. Oregon Health & Science University will open a $650 million cancer center in April, the Vista Pavilion, which will house 128 inpatient beds. The Medical University of South Carolina advanced plans for a $1.1 billion cancer hospital in Charleston. Dana-Farber Cancer Institute received the largest single gift in its history to support a $1.68 billion, 300-bed inpatient cancer hospital expected to begin construction in mid-2026. Other investments include a $65 million cancer center in Redmond, Oregon, a nearly $60 million cancer center in Wenatchee, Washington, and a $30 million gift to Cedars-Sinai to establish the Cedars-Sinai Cayton BRCA Center focused on cancers linked to BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations.