•Breast cancer is a random and deadly disease•The most significant risk factors for breast cancer are being female and getting older •With respect to age, race, religion and socioeconomic status, breast cancer knows no boundaries •Breast cancer typically strikes women during their most productive years both professionally and personally •Breast cancer affects everyone, not just the person diagnosed. Co-survivors (family, friends and co-workers) feel the effects, too •Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer and is the leading cause of cancer death among women worldwide •Every 23 seconds, someone in the world is diagnosed with breast cancer •Every 69 seconds, somewhere in the world, someone dies from breast cancer •Approximately 1.4 million women are diagnosed each year (At this rate, 34.5 million women will be diagnosed in the next 25 years) •Approximately 456,000 women die from the disease each year (At this rate, 11.4 million women will die from breast cancer during the next 25 years) •In the past 25 years, incidence rates have risen approximately 30 percent in westernized countries. This increase may be due to changes in reproductive patterns and increased screening •Mortality rates have been stable or decreasing in some countries. This reduction in developed countries is attributed to early detection through mammography and improved treatment •One in eight women in the U.S. will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime •Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among women in the U.S. ages 40-59 •Breast cancer is second only to lung cancer in cancer deaths among women in the U.S. •The five-year survival rate for breast cancer, when caught early before it spreads beyond the breast, is now 98 percent in the U.S. (compared to 74 percent in 1982) •A woman is diagnosed with breast cancer every three minutes, and a woman dies of breast cancer every 13 minutes in the U.S. •There are about 2.5 million breast cancer survivors alive in the U.S. today, the largest group of cancer survivors in the country •Approximately 5 to 10 percent of breast cancers in the U.S. are due to inherited mutations in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 breast cancer genes (less than 1 percent of the general population) •Approximately 95 percent of all breast cancers in the U.S. occur in women 40 years of age or older •Recent studies suggest that many women are not following recommended guidelines for mammorgraphy screening by having their first screening later than recommended, not having one at recommended intervals or not receiving follow-up of positive screening results. This may lead to more advanced tumor size and stage at diagnosis Statistics provided by the Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

********** Published: October 06, 2011 - Volume 10 - Issue 25