The breast is the leading site of new cancer cases among women. In 1996, about 184,300 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer. There was a rapid increase in the incidence between 1982 and 1987, however, since that time there appears to have been little if any change. An estimated 44,300 women will die of breast cancer this year.
Breast cancer is second only to lung cancer as a cause of cancer death among women.
The declines were even sharper among particular groups of women. Increased use of mammography is one of the reasons for the decline in death rates. While overall breast cancer rates have declined, much remains to be done to counter this threat to women's health. Statistics show a stark contrast between breast cancer death rates for white women and African-American women. In spite of this advance, some breast cancers, even localized ones, will recur after five years.