ONCE a year for 25 years daffodils have joined the fight against Australia's biggest killer - cancer.

Buy a daffodil today to help raise more than $9.5 million for research, patient support and care for people with cancer.

An estimated 114,000 new cases of cancer were diagnosed in Australia last year, with one in every two Australians expected to be diagnosed with the disease by the age of 85, the Cancer Council says.

The alarming statistics could be a whole lot worse were it not for fundraising events like Daffodil Day, NSW Minister for Health Jillian Skinner said.

"NSW has a five-year survival rate of 64.4 per cent, up from 61 per cent in 2001," Ms Skinner said in a statement yesterday.

"Other successes include a noticeable drop in smoking, and a significant increase in the number of women participating in breast screening in the past five years.

"This has been a result of the achievements of organisations including the Cancer Institute NSW and not-for-profit organisations such as the Cancer Council."