The Detroit Research on Cancer Survivors (ROCS) cohort study enrolls African Americans diagnosed with lung, breast, prostate or colorectal cancer and their caregivers. These cancers were selected because they contribute greatly to the cancer burden, occur at the highest frequency in African Americans, and represent cancers with a range in survival times and disease severity. This population-based African-American cancer cohort will ultimately include over 5,000 cancer survivors with annual follow-up for up to five years, supporting a broad research agenda aimed at identifying major factors affecting cancer survivorship in African Americans. A detailed description of eligibility criteria for the study includes: 1) self-identification as African American or black; 2) an age at cancer diagnosis of 20–79 years; 3) a date of diagnosis on or after January 1, 2013; 4) a diagnosis of first primary invasive lung, female breast, prostate or colorectal cancer; 5) a resident of Wayne, Oakland or Macomb county, Michigan at time of diagnosis; and 6) alive at study contact. The study protocol, all questionnaires, and study documents were reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board at Wayne State University (IRB #050417M1F).