Survivorship Survey
2025 Study
Introduction
The 2025 Cancer Nation Survivorship Survey captures the voices and realities of more than 2,000 cancer survivors across the United States. This year’s findings reveal erosion in trust and satisfaction in care, deepening financial and mental health burdens, and continued underuse of Survivorship Care Plans that could transform long-term outcomes.
New This Year:
- Chronic conditions and their impact on cancer treatment.
- Confidence moving into post treatment care.
- Deeper dive on Survivorship Care Plans.
- Medicare Prescription Payment Plan.
- Comfort with the implementation of AI in cancer care.
- More questions on emotional and mental health.
At its core, this year’s data reminds us: cancer care is not just about survival, it’s about how we live with and beyond cancer.
Download The Report
Web Briefing
Cancer Nation hosted a web briefing on November 12 to present the 2025 survey findings. Cancer Nation CEO Shelley Fuld Nasso and Edge Research Senior Research Analyst Liana Gainsboro took a deep dive into the results in detail and answered questions from an audience of survivors, health care professionals, researchers, and more.
Briefing Topics
00:00 Intro, Survey Objectives
03:12 Methodology & Who Responded
05:35 Treatment Decision-Making
09:20 Second Opinions
10:35 Patient Trust in Information & Research
13:22 Clinical Trials
15:47 Care Experience, Patient Satisfaction
19:36 Side Effects, Care Team Trust
22:00 Cancer Treatment and AI
25:13 Cancer & Chronic Conditions
26:50 Patient Emotional Health & Support
28:08 Emotional Support
29:27 Employer Support
30:50 Post-Treatment Care Experiences
34:12 Survivorship Care Plans
38:06 Financial Impacts
40:04 Insurance Challenges
41:40 Medicare Prescription Payment Plan
42:52 Key Takeaways
47:38 Q&A from Audience
The briefing recording can also be watched on YouTube.
The detailed findings slide deck of the 2025 survey data contains more data than is featured in the briefing. Download the Detailed Findings here »
Key Takeaways
Trust in Care vs. Satisfaction in Care
While most survivors continue to trust their doctors, that trust is diminishing, especially among younger and underserved patients.
At the same time, satisfaction with care, while still high, has declined across nearly every stage of the cancer journey. Greater financial strains and more patients struggling with mental health issues are the biggest drivers of the decrease in satisfaction. Majorities say their providers coordinate care well, yet nearly 6 in 10 patients report having to share medical information between providers themselves.
Mental Health & Loneliness
Emotional wellbeing remains a crisis point. One in three patients experiences depression or anxiety during treatment, and just a third of those feel adequately supported in managing mental health. Younger patients, patients of color, and those parenting children during treatment are more likely to feel isolated during treatment. While patients turn most often to family and friends for support, few report meaningful mental health help from their care teams. Half of those with pre-existing mental health conditions say cancer made it harder to manage them.
Cancer’s mental health toll remains invisible in too many care settings, leaving survivors anxious, isolated, and exhausted.
Survivorship Care Plans: The Confidence Gap
Despite years of advocacy, only one in three (36%) survivors reports receiving a survivorship care plan — down from 43% last year. Yet the impact of these plans is undeniable. Most survivors do not feel prepared in most aspects of managing their care post-treatment, but those who have a plan are significantly more confident managing their health, side effects, and mental wellbeing after treatment. Nearly all who receive one find it helpful, and 85% of patients in treatment say they expect one when they finish treatment. Survivorship care planning remains one of the clearest, most actionable paths to improving post-treatment quality of life.
Research & Politics
Survivors overwhelmingly believe cancer research benefits them (9 in 10). At the same time, more than half also believe research is influenced by politics. This skepticism underscores a growing crisis of trust—not in science itself, but in the systems that fund and communicate it. While faith in innovation remains high, survivors’ faith in fairness is fading. This is an urgent call for transparency, accessibility, and survivor-centered research communication.
Financial Toxicity
Financial distress has reached alarming levels. Half of all survivors report at least one financial hardship tied to their diagnosis, a 12-point increase from 2024. Younger patients are hit hardest, draining savings, delaying purchases, and applying for government aid. The rising cost of health insurance is now the number-one financial concern. For many, cancer care doesn’t just threaten health — it threatens stability.
Treatment Side Effects
Over nine in ten patients experience side effects, yet few feel their care teams were very helpful in managing them, with the exception of nausea. Fatigue, fear of recurrence, and pain top the list. And these side effects don’t always end when treatment does; they shape survivors’ ability to work, parent, and live fully.
Whole person cancer care demands attention to the long shadow side effects cast.
Insurance & Prior Authorization
Insurance remains both a lifeline and a barrier. Those with private insurance are the most likely to report coverage challenges, while those with Medicare or Medicaid fare somewhat better. A quarter say insurance influenced their treatment choices while a third reported having at least one issue with their insurance during treatment. These findings lay bare the inequity in access to care for many patients. Prior authorization delays and denials leave patients anxious and vulnerable, often compounding both physical and emotional distress.
Cancer care must never depend on the fine print of an insurance policy.
The Takeaway
Across every theme — trust, mental health, survivorship, finances, and side effects — the message is clear: survivors are surviving, but too many are not thriving.
This year’s findings reaffirm why we exist: We need a Cure for Care — care that sees, treats, and covers the whole person, not just the cancer.
We are Cancer Nation. And we are here to be heard.
See More Charts and Data
The 2025 Cancer Nation Survivorship Survey detailed findings presentation deck contains much more information, including data on additional topics and more detailed tables and charts.
Download the Detailed Findings (PDF) »
Download this Executive Summary (PDF) »
Request Survey Data
Cancer Nation accepts requests from researchers and advocacy organizations wanting to use the State of Survivorship data set to support their research and practice for the purpose of improving quality of care for those touched by cancer.
2025 Survivorship Survey Supporters
Presenting Sponsor
Sponsors
Genmab
AstraZeneca, Sheri and Les Biller Family Foundation, Bristol Myers Squibb
Eisai, Kite
AstraZeneca, Sheri and Les Biller Family Foundation, Bristol Myers Squibb
Eisai, Kite
