Cancer Survival Rates Dramatically Rising

Cancer survival rates in Britain have doubled during the past 30 years thanks to increasingly advanced medical procedures and public awareness.

The Independent reported Wednesday that, according to Cancer Research UK figures, cancer survival rates have continued to rise in the past few decades as medical experts improve their abilities to diagnosis and treat the potentially deadly disease.

The figures show that in 1971, only 23.6 percent of cancer sufferers were expected to live another decade, while 46.2 percent of similar patients in 2000-01 were given the same diagnosis, the British newspaper reported.

Cancer experts view a 10-year life expectancy as a near cure, due to the deadly nature of the feared disease.

Based on such dramatic increases in survival rates, Cancer Research UK officials said Tuesday that by 2020 they want to have five-year survival rates move from 2001′s 50 percent to 66 percent overall.

The Independent said nearly 250,000 British residents receive cancer treatment each year.