The number of people surviving cancer in the short-term has jumped 30 percent over the last two decades.
Early detection and improved treatments are behind the good news for cancer sufferers.
Figures from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare show Australians with the disease are 30 percent more likely to survive than 20 years ago.
The survival rate for women is now more than 60 percent with men not far behind.
For women, survival after five years increased from 53 to 64 per cent over that time.
The increase for men from 41 to 58 per cent is even more marked.
Dr Mark Short says the greatest increases in survival are in the 50 to 69 year age range.
The most deadly cancers remain those of the pancreas, lung, brain and stomach.