The Numbers - Breast Cancer Statistics Breast cancer is a common disease. The American Cancer Society estimated that 185,700 people would be diagnosed with breast cancer in 1996. The rate we find breast cancer in women has steadily increased over the past 30 years.
Breast cancer is one of the most common malignancies in females.
It happens more often than the total number of female colon, uterine, ovarian, and cervical cancers combined. Although women can get breast cancer at almost any age, they rarely get it before age 30. We see most cases in middle-aged and older women. Breast cancer is also less common in certain parts of the world, and among certain ethnic groups. For example, women who live in the Far East, particularly in Japan, have relatively low rates.