Approximately one in nine women in the United States will develop breast cancer by age 85. Approximately 184,300 new, cases of breast cancer were diagnosed in the United Stated in 1996.
Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women.
Mammography can detect breast lumps too small to be felt. Mammography is the most accurate early detection technique. Generally, survival has an inverse relationship with the stage of cancer at detection- the more advanced the cancer stage, the lower the survival rate. Only 58 percent of cancers are diagnosed at this stage, but regular mammography combined with regular clinical breast exams and breast self-exams offer the best opportunity to increase this percentage. 32 percent of cancers are diagnosed at this stage.