Approximately 2.6 million women are currently living with breast cancer in the United States alone. This statistic should be interpreted with caution, since it reflects a cumulative risk over a hypothetical 80-100 year life span and had minimal relevance for a woman in her 40 s or 50 s. Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women in every ethnic group in the United States. Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death for African-American women.
Every woman is at risk for developing breast cancer.
This risk increases as a woman ages, rising sharply after the age of 40, if she has a family history of breast cancer and had her first child after the age of 30. While breast cancer can be detected at an early and treatable stage, breast cancer cannot be prevented. By the time breast cancer is detected in a mammogram, a woman will have already had the disease for an average of 6 to 8 years. By the time a breast lump is found through a breast examination, a woman will have had the disease for an average of 10 years. Breast cancer affects a small percentage of men.