Abstract

In the United States alone, approximately 1.6 million new cases of cancer (excluding skin cancer) are expected to be diagnosed in 2012 and close to 577,000 Americans are expected to die from cancer, making it the second most common cause of death in the United States after heart disease (American Cancer Society, 2012). The four most common cancers – prostate, breast, colorectal, and lung – are expected to account for approximately 50% of all new cancer cases and 50% of all new cancer deaths in 2010 (2012). The 5-year relative survival rate in the United States across all cancers and disease stages is 67% (2012). The high incidence coupled with good survival rates have resulted in nearly 12 million cancer survivors currently living in the United States (2012). Consequently, there is a growing population of cancer survivors.