A new breast cancer is diagnosed every three minutes. Breast cancer is the 2nd leading cause of cancer death for women between the ages of 35 and 54. 1 out of 8 women in the U.S. will develop breast cancer in her lifetime - in 1960 it was 1 out of 14. Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death for African American women. More than 1.6 million breast cancer survivors are alive in America today.
Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women, excluding skin cancers.
The American Cancer Society estimates that in 1997 some 180,200 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed among women in the United States. An estimated 1,400 cases will be diagnosed among men. Recently, the rate has leveled off at about 110 per 100,000. Most of this apparent increase is believed to be a result of marked increases in the use of mammography, providing better detection of early-stage breast cancers. Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women, exceeded only by lung cancer.