"Survivor" can have different meanings when applied to people with cancer.
- Some people use the word to refer to anyone who has ever been diagnosed with cancer. For example, someone living with cancer may be considered a survivor.
- Some people use the term to refer to someone who has completed cancer treatment.
- Others call a person a survivor if he or she has lived several years past a cancer diagnosis.

The American Cancer Society believes that each person has the right to define their experience with cancer and considers a cancer survivor to be anyone who describes themselves this way, from diagnosis to death.

American Cancer Society. Glossary. Internet. Accessed on September 3, 2017.