Nearly everyone on the planet will feel the impact of cancer at some point in their lives, either through a personal diagnosis or through a loved one's illness, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said in its first-ever global survey of people affected by the disease.
One in five people will develop cancer themselves. But once the ripple effects on families are counted in, roughly 92% of all people globally will be touched by the disease at least once in their lifetime, according to the Global Status Report on Cancer 2026, released on July 8 by WHO and its cancer agency, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).
