Anchor: The five-year survival rate for cancer patients has surpassed 70 percent for the first time in South Korea. Thanks to the advancement of medical technology as well as early diagnosis and treatment, cancer is no longer a terminal illness.
Our Kim In-kyung has more.
 
Report: Two in three people diagnosed with cancer live more than five years, according to data released by the Health Ministry and the Korea Central Cancer Registry on Tuesday.
 
The five-year relative survival rate for patients who developed cancer in the five-year period between 2010 and 2014 was 70-point-three percent, surpassing the 70 percent threshold for the first time.
 
Excluding thyroid cancer, which has a five-year relative survival rate above 100 percent, the survival rate was 63-point-one percent.
 
The five-year survival rate has been increasing annually, from slightly above 40 percent between 1993 and 1995 to 65 percent between 2006 and 2010 and almost 70 percent between 2009 and 2013.
 
Between 2010 and 2014, the five-year survival rate was highest for thyroid cancer, followed by prostate and breast cancer. The survival rate was relatively low for liver, lung and pancreatic cancer.
 
The survival rate for women was 78-point-two percent while it was only 62-point-two percent for men.
 
The Health Ministry explained that more women are diagnosed with thyroid and breast cancer, which have higher survival rates.
Kim In-kyung, KBS World Radio News.