In this HINTS Brief, we explore health behaviors of cancer survivors and summarize 

public health strategies to promote health and well-being among cancer survivors.

NUMBER 21

Health Behaviors in 

Cancer Survivors

Significant progress in cancer diagnosis and treatment 

since the 1950s has led to a growing population of cancer 

survivors. There are currently more than 11.9 million 

cancer survivors in the United States. This number is 

expected to continue to grow as the U.S. population 

ages. Cancer survivors face physical, psychological, social, 

spiritual, and financial challenges. Many of these issues 

could be addressed through public health initiatives to 

prevent secondary disease and cancer recurrence and by 

improving quality of life for cancer survivors.

Members of the national cancer program, including NCI, 

the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 

and the American Cancer Society (ACS), provide resources 

and data for working with cancer survivor populations. This 

HINTS Brief highlights some of those resources.

The ACS publication Survivorship: During and After Treatment

offers the following recommendations for staying healthy 

during and after treatment for cancer:

•	 Eat healthy: good nutrition during and after 

treatment for cancer may help survivors feel better, 

keep up strength, maintain nutrient stores, tolerate 

treatment side effects, lower risk of infection, and 

promote recovery. 

•	 Get active: physical activity during and after 

treatment for cancer can help survivors maintain 

physical abilities, lower risk of injury, reduce muscle 

wasting, lower risk of chronic disease, reduce nausea, 

reduce psychological distress, improve social contact, 

reduce fatigue, maintain weight, and improve overall 

quality of life. 

•	 Control weight: through appropriate nutrition and 

activity, cancer survivors can work toward maintaining 

a healthy weight and thereby lower risk of disease and 

improve quality of life.

•	 Avoid tobacco: quitting smoking can help cancer 

survivors lower risk of lung cancer, other cancers, 

heart attack, stroke, and chronic lung diseases such as 

emphysema and chronic bronchitis.

•	 Find cancer early: engaging in recommended 

screening for certain cancers can help survivors detect 

cancer early, when the cancer is more responsive to 

treatment. 

National Action Plan for 

Cancer Survivorship

The CDC partnered with 

LIVESTRONG to create A National 

Action Plan for Cancer Survivorship: 

Advancing Public Health Strategies.

The plan describes public health 

interventions to improve the health 

and well-being of cancer survivors. 

By adopting the National Action Plan, 

the public health community can seize 

an important opportunity to improve quality of life among 

cancer survivors. 

Quick Facts

•	 There	are	currently	more	than	11.9	million	cancer	

survivors in the U.S., representing approximately 

4 percent of the population.

•	 Healthy	lifestyle	choices	during	and	after	treatment	for	

cancer can improve quality of life in survivors.

•	 Cancer	survivors	face	numerous	challenges	including	

physical, psychological, social, spiritual, and financial issues 

that can be addressed through public health initiatives and 

targeted interventions.

•	 Cancer	survivors,	like	most	Americans,	have	room	for	

improvement on many health protective behaviors. 

Estimated Number of Cancer Survivors in the United States 

from 1971 to 2008

Data source: Howlader N, Noone AM, Krapcho M, Neyman N, Aminou R, Waldron W, Altekruse SF, Kosary CL, 

Ruhl J, Tatalovich Z, Cho H, Mariotto A, Eisner MP, Lewis DR, Chen HS, Feuer EJ, Cronin KA, Edwards BK (eds). 

SEER Cancer Statistics Review, 1975-2008, National Cancer Institute. Bethesda, MD, 

http://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2008/, based on November 2010 SEER data submission, posted to the SEER 

website, 2011.

Year

Number

0 

2,000,000 

4,000,000 

6,000,000 

8,000,000 

10,000,000 

12,000,000 

14,000,000 

1971 1973 1975 1977 1979 1981 1983 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 

2009
References Used in This HINTS Brief

• American Cancer Society. Survivorship: During and After Treatment. URL: http://www.cancer.org/

Treatment/SurvivorshipDuringandAfterTreatment/index Accessed September 27, 2011.

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Lance Armstrong Foundation. A national 

action plan for cancer survivorship: Advancing public health strategies. Source: http://www.cdc.gov/

cancer/survivorship/what_cdc_is_doing/action_plan.htm Accessed September 27, 2011.

• Howlader N, Noone AM, Krapcho M, Neyman N, Aminou R, Waldron W, Altekruse SF, Kosary CL, 

Ruhl J, Tatalovich Z, Cho H, Mariotto A, Eisner MP, Lewis DR, Chen HS, Feuer EJ, Cronin KA, Edwards 

BK (eds). SEER Cancer Statistics Review, 1975-2008, National Cancer Institute. Bethesda, MD, http://

seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2008/, based on November 2010 SEER data submission, posted to the 

SEER website, 2011.

• Mayer DK, Terrin NC, Menon U, Kreps GL, McCance K, Parsons SK, Mooney KH. 

2007 Health behaviors in cancer survivors. Oncol Nurs Forum 34(3):643–51.

For More Information on Cancer

•	 Call the NCI Cancer Information Service at 1-800-4-CANCER

•	 Visit http://cancer.gov

•	 Order NCI publications at https://cissecure.nci.nih.gov/ncipubs/

March 2012

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) fielded the first Health Information National Trends 

Survey (HINTS) in 2002 and 2003, surveying 6,369 Americans. Subsequent surveys followed 

in 2005 (5,586 Americans surveyed) and 2008 (7,674 Americans surveyed). HINTS was created 

to monitor changes in the rapidly evolving field of health communication. The survey data can be used to understand how adults use 

different communication channels to obtain health information for themselves and their loved ones, and to create more effective 

health communication strategies across populations.

HINTS Briefs provide a snapshot of noteworthy, data-driven research findings. They introduce population-level estimates for specific questions in 

the survey and summarize significant research findings that are a result of analyzing how certain demographic characteristics influence specific 

outcomes. Many Briefs summarize research findings from recent peer-reviewed journal articles using HINTS data.

How Can This Inform Your Work?

Data from HINTS about the health behaviors of cancer survivors 

point to public health opportunities to promote health and wellbeing during cancer survivorship. The ACS recommendations for 

healthy behavior during survivorship can be promoted using the 

communication and education strategies outlined in A National 

Action Plan for Cancer Survivorship. 

•	 Structure	existing	and	develop	new	messages	about	cancer	

survivorship to reach three broad audiences: the public, 

cancer survivors, and health care providers.

•	 Tailor	the	content	and	delivery	of	these	existing	and/or	

developed messages for subgroups (e.g., culturally diverse 

groups, various health care professionals) within each of the 

three main audiences.

•	 Use	factual,	consistent,	culturally	appropriate	language	and	

information.

Other resources:

•	 NCI’s Facing Forward series

•	 IOM Report From Cancer Patient to Cancer Survivor: Lost in 

Transition

A study using HINTS data from 2003 examined smoking, fruit 

and vegetable consumption, and physical activity among cancer 

survivors. Investigators found that, like most Americans, cancer 

survivors have room for improvement on several healthy lifestyle 

behaviors. Despite having higher risks for cancer and other chronic 

diseases, cancer survivors were no more likely than the general 

population to engage in health protective behaviors.

Smoking

No significant differences were observed in smoking prevalence 

between cancer survivors (22.5 percent) and those without 

a history of cancer (18.4 percent). Population estimates for 

both groups are higher than the ACS 2015 Goal for smoking 

prevalence of 12 percent, suggesting room for improvement.

Fruit and Vegetable Consumption

The proportion of cancer survivors (18 percent) eating at least 

five fruits or vegetables per day was not significantly different 

than those without a history of cancer (14.9 percent) and 

was considerably higher than the ACS 2015 Goal for fruit and 

vegetable consumption of 75 percent of the adult population, 

suggesting significant room for improvement in all adults, 

regardless of medical history.

Physical Activity

The proportion of cancer survivors who reported being physically 

active on a weekly basis was significantly lower among cancer 

survivors (45.3 percent) compared to those without cancer 

(53 percent). These estimates do not meet the ACS 2015 Goals for 

physical activity wherein 60 percent of adults engage in at least 30 

minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity on five or more 

days per week.

Smoking, fruit and vegetable consumption, and physical activity 

among cancer survivors vs. those with no cancer history

 Cancer Survivors (n=619)

 No Cancer History (n=2,141)

Smoking Fruits & Vegetables Physical Activity

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Data Source: Health Information National Trends Survey, 2003 (HINTS, 2003) 

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Cancer survivors not more likely to engage in health protective behaviors