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     Facts about Breast Cancer............ USA ....* The cause of breast cancer is unknown; besides being female, age is a womans single most important risk factor for developing breast cancer. * Every woman is at risk: only 5-10% of all breast cancers happen because of inherited genetic mutations. * The breast is the leading cancer site for women, accounting for 30% of all cancers in women. * The cumulative lifetime risk for Canadian women is 1 in 9 (1 in 27 will die). * When breast cancer is caught in its earliest stages, the five-year survival rate for women ages 20-39 with breast cancer is 79 percent. * Cancer in young women is generally more aggressive and result in lower survival rates. * 22,300 women in Canada will develop breast cancer in 2007 and about 5,300 women will die from the disease. * 20% of all breast cancers occur in women under 50 years of age. Incidence begins to rise after age 25. * Research directed to understanding how and why tumors develop may result in new and effective methods of treatment that have fewer side effects than conventional chemotherapy. * Young women with breast cancer struggle with many issues that their post-menopausal counterparts don't face, including: the possibility of early menopause, pregnancy after diagnosis, generally more advance cancers at diagnosis, and higher mortality rates. * Breast cancer often responds well to chemotherapy and radiation. * We know that lifestyle choices, such as not smoking, healthy eating and staying physically active, can play an important role in reducing breast cancer risk. Every year in the United States of America, thousands of people are affected by breast cancer. It impacts the people living with the disease, their families, friends and loved ones... Sex Excluding cancers of the skin, breast cancer is the most common cancer among women, accounting for nearly 1 in 4 cancers diagnosed in US women. Men are generally at low risk for developing breast cancer; however, they should report any change in their breasts to a physician.
Age Breast cancer incidence and death rates generally increase with age. During 2002-2006, 95% of new cases and 97% of breast cancer deaths occurred in women aged 40 and older. During 2002-2006, women aged 20-24 had the lowest incidence rate, 1.4 cases per 100,000 women; women aged 75-79 had the highest incidence rate, 441.9 cases per 100,000.3 The decrease in incidence rates that occurs in women ages 80 and older may reflect lower rates of screening, the detection of cancers by mammography before age 80, and/or incomplete detection. During 2002-2006, the median age at the time of breast cancer diagnosis was 61 years. This means that 50% of women who developed breast cancer were age 61 or younger at the time of diagnosis.
How many cases and deaths are estimated to occur in 2009? In 2009, an estimated 192,370 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed among women, as well as an estimated 62,280 additional cases of in situ breast cancer. In 2009, about 1,910 cases of breast cancer are expected to occur among men, accounting for about 1% of all breast cancers. In addition, approximately 440 men will die from breast cancer.
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