The number of cancer deaths has fallen dramatically over the last 25 years seeing a 25 percent drop in those diagnosed.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released data that shows there were 2.1 million fewer deaths between 1991 and 2014 than was expected and it’s all down to advancements in treatments, people stopping smoking and the Affordable Care Act that allows minorities to access healthcare.

Advancements have led to earlier detection for breast cancer, lung cancer and prostate cancer – three of the most common that people are diagnosed with.

The report shows that people diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia back in the 70s would have had a 41 percent chance of surviving the cancer within five years of diagnosis while those diagnosed with the same condition between 2006 and 2012, the survival rate went up to 71 percent and his is a common trend throughout different cancers.

Obama’s Affordable Care Act has been hailed a major positive in allowing minorities to be able to easily afford treatment and has contributed to the fall in cancer deaths overall.

“These shifts should help to expedite progress in reducing socioeconomic disparities in cancer, as well as other health conditions,” the report says.

It’s estimated that 1,688,780 people in the United States are expected to get a cancer diagnosis in the next year but the report gives hope to many that the rate of survival is much better.

“The continuing drops in the cancer death rate are a powerful sign of the potential we have to reduce cancer’s deadly toll,” Dr. Otis Brawley, the chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society, said in a statement. “Continuing that success will require more clinical and basic research to improve early detection and treatment, as well as strategies to increase healthy behaviors nationwide.”

The report was published by the American Cancer Society.