An estimated 175,000 new cases of invasive cancer are expected to be diagnosed in 1999 - 1300 men and 173,300 women. An additional 39,000 cases of pre-invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed in 1999. An estimated 43,300 women and 400 men are expected to die from breast cancer. Every three minutes, another woman is diagnosed with breast cancer. Every 11 minutes, another woman dies from breast cancer.
Breast cancer is second only to lung cancer in cancer-related deaths.
Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death for all women aged 35-54. Every woman is at risk for developing breast cancer. There is no known cure for breast cancer. Despite growing use of mammography and overall advances in medical technology, the death rate has not changed significantly over the last twenty years. Approximately half of all breast cancer patients will die from their disease.