What is breast cancer?
Breast cancer is a malignant tumor that starts from cells of the
breast. A malignant tumor
is a group of cancer cells that may invade surrounding tissues or
spread (metastasize) to distant areas of the body.Key Statistics
- Breast cancer is the most common cancer among American women, except
for skin cancers.
- The chance of developing invasive breast cancer at
some time in a woman's life is about 1 in 8 (12%).
- It is estimated that
in 2007 about 178,480 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be
diagnosed among women in the United States.
- Women living in North
America have the highest rate of breast cancer in the world.
- At this
time there are about 2.5 million breast cancer survivors in the United
States.
- In addition to invasive breast cancer, carcinoma in situ (CIS)
will account for about 62,030 new cases in 2007. CIS is non-invasive
and is the earliest form of breast cancer.
- Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in
women, exceeded only by lung cancer.
- The chance that breast cancer will
be responsible for a woman's death is about 1 in 35 (about 3%).
- In
2007, about 40,460 women will die from breast cancer in the United
States.
- Death rates from breast cancer have been declining since about
1990, with larger decreases in women younger than 50. These decreases
are believed to be the result of earlier detection through screening
and increased awareness, as well as improved treatment.
So what does this mean to you and me? Promoting awareness, performing self-checks, and yearly mammograms increase the chance that the cancer will be caught at an earlier stage, thus increasing the chance of survival. Donating to and volunteering for causes like Bowl for the Cure
® helps in two major ways - it educates women about the importance of self breast examinations and yearly mammograms as well as helps fund research so we can one day hope to fight or even prevent this disease.For more information on mammograms and other breast imaging procedures, please
click here.