In 2016, 15.5 million cancer survivors were living in the U.S. This figure is expected to hit 26.1 million people by 2040, due to earlier cancer detection and treatment advancements.
To assess the prevalence of chronic pain in this growing population, researchers analyzed 2016-17 data from the CDC’s National Health Interview Survey. Researchers from the Mount Sinai Health System is New York City led the effort.
They found about 35 percent of cancer survivors have chronic pain, which translates to 5.4 million people in the U.S.
“These results highlight the important unmet needs of pain management in the large, and growing cancer survivorship community,” study author Changchuan Jiang, MD, a medical resident at Mount Sinai, said in a press release.
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