As 70% of Americans Live Beyond Cancer, City of Hope Sets the Standard for Lifelong Survivorship Care

Supporting the growing number of Americans living with cancer has become one of the most urgent challenges in modern cancer care as more people live years or decades beyond a diagnosis. In response, City of Hope®, one of the largest and most advanced cancer research and treatment organizations in the United States, is setting a new standard for lifelong, research-driven survivorship care. That effort includes the City of Hope Line, a national initiative inviting survivors, caregivers and loved ones to share experiences and words of encouragement.

The City of Hope Line launches with messages from well-known voices, including Olivia Munn, Bea Kim, Jordan Chiles, Andrew McMahon and O.A.R. alongside cancer survivors, creating a nationwide chorus of encouragement rooted in lived experience.

For the first time, 70% of Americans diagnosed with cancer are surviving at least five years, a milestone reflecting decades of scientific progress and contributing to nearly 19 million people living with or beyond cancer. At City of Hope, that progress is matched by long-standing investments in survivorship research and care designed to help survivors live longer, healthier lives after cancer treatment. Efforts like Day for Hope, an annual nationwide day of giving and collective action, help sustain and expand this work for people affected by cancer.

“More people are surviving cancer than ever before, which is a testament to the wondrous innovation driven by leading cancer centers. Yet that progress also brings a new responsibility,” said City of Hope CEO Robert Stone. “At City of Hope, we’re focused on ensuring survivorship is not an afterthought, but a standard of care. That means surrounding every patient with the guidance, resources and coordinated support they need to live fully beyond treatment.”

Marcel van den Brink, M.D., Ph.D., chief physician executive at City of Hope, added, “The definition of high‑quality cancer care continues to expand. At City of Hope, survivorship care begins at diagnosis and remains part of care for the rest of a person’s life. Our approach is grounded in research, risk‑based monitoring and close coordination between cancer specialists and primary care physicians so that people are supported through treatment and long after it ends.”

Helping to voice the critical need is the City of Hope Line, launching in June to mark National Cancer Survivors Month. The City of Hope Line invites survivors, caregivers, loved ones, clinicians and community members to share short messages answering one simple but powerful question: What would you say to someone who just heard the words, “You have cancer”?

"There are people like myself who have gone through it and are here for you,” said actress and breast cancer survivor Olivia Munn in a social media video for City of Hope Line. “So, if you ever need a little encouragement, just reach out to someone who has gone through this. Because once you have been given this diagnosis, there is this kindred feeling with so many other people in the world."

City of Hope believes survivorship care should be tailored to each patient’s cancer type, treatments and long-term risk profile. Care should include coordinated follow-up with targeted screening for late effects, rehabilitation, and symptom and pain management, along with support for nutrition, fertility, emotional health and practical needs such as work, insurance and finances. This approach is shaped by survivorship research and delivered through close collaboration among oncology teams, survivorship specialists and primary care providers.

City of Hope is developing a systemwide survivorship program designed to support patients from diagnosis through long‑term follow‑up. The effort will draw on centralized clinical and research expertise while extending coordinated survivorship support across City of Hope’s national network, helping ensure patients receive consistent guidance and care no matter where they are treated.

Survivorship Care Defined by Data

Built on one of the nation’s largest survivorship research platforms, City of Hope has been following more than 15,000 long-term hematopoietic cell transplantation survivors through its Center for Survivorship and Outcomes, tracking health outcomes for decades after treatment. These data inform specialized, nationally recognized survivorship programs grounded in multidisciplinary, lifelong follow-up care.

• Evidence from decades of follow‑up: City of Hope investigators have led long‑term survivorship studies showing that cancer survivors face elevated risks for cardiovascular disease, frailty and second cancers years and even decades after treatment.
• Research that informs earlier, risk‑based care: City of Hope studies have demonstrated how specific treatment exposures can accelerate aging‑related conditions, shaping survivorship approaches that emphasize early detection, targeted screening and prevention‑focused interventions.
• Data that underpins lifelong survivorship programs: Findings from City of Hope survivorship research directly inform specialized, multidisciplinary long‑term follow‑up care, including nationally recognized programs supporting childhood, adolescent, young adult and adult survivors across the lifespan.

“City of Hope-led research has shown that many cancer survivors develop serious health problems like cardiovascular disease and second cancers much earlier than the general population,” said Saro Armenian, D.O., M.P.H. A national leader in cancer survivorship, Dr. Armenian has contributed to the development of clinical guidelines for long-term follow-up care and serves as director of City of Hope’s Childhood, Adolescent and Young Adult Survivorship Program.

“By following survivors over decades, we have been able to identify risks that would often be missed without targeted screening and translate those findings into prevention‑focused care designed to intervene before damage becomes irreversible.”

Messages of Hope for Life After Cancer

For millions of survivors, the end of cancer treatment can be the start of a chapter that feels uncertain and hard to navigate.

“There are more cancer survivors than ever before, and we need systems that know how to support us long after treatment ends," said City of Hope patient Valarie Traynham, a Chicago-area, two-time cancer survivor and patient advocate. "At City of Hope, survivorship has meant adjusting to a new normal and using my experience to support, educate, and uplift others who are also living with cancer."

Through the City of Hope Line, patients and survivors across the country can share similar messages of hope and encouragement. Participants can call throughout the month of June to listen to recorded messages or leave a message of their own. City of Hope Line phone booth installations can be found at select events, hosted by City of Hope cancer centers in Los Angeles, Orange County, California, Chicago, Atlanta and Phoenix. Some messages will be shared across City of Hope’s social media channels throughout June, amplifying survivors’ voices.

The City of Hope Line builds on the Cancer Fighters program, created by City of Hope patients nearly four decades ago to connect and learn from each other. Today, the community includes nearly 80,000 members who believe no one should face cancer without the support of people who truly understand the journey.

“As millions more people live longer after cancer, health systems, researchers and insurers must treat survivorship care as essential, funding research, expanding coverage and ensuring patients have the support they need beyond treatment,” said Dr. Armenian, the Barron Hilton Chair in Pediatrics. “If we don’t rethink how survivorship is delivered, we risk turning progress against cancer into preventable harm.”

How to Participate

To participate in the City of Hope Line during National Cancer Survivors Month, individuals can call 626-218-4056 to listen to and leave messages of hope.

Additionally, June 2 is Day for Hope, when the community can make a gift to help advance cancer research, treatment and survivorship care. Together, we can help more cancer patients become cancer survivors: cityofhope.org/givehope.