One out of every nine women in the United States will develop breast cancer in her lifetime. A woman is diagnosed with breast cancer every three minutes, and one woman will die every twelve minutes. In 1994, the American Cancer Society estimated that 182,000 women were diagnosed with breast cancer. There is no known cure for advanced breast cancer, so the early detection of breast cancer is crucial. Some factors that increase the risk of breast cancer are older age, family history of breast cancer, history of breast cancer, previous breast cancer, history of benign breast disease, and older age at the birth of the first child.
Osteoporosis is yet another deadly disease that affects mainly women.
One out of every two women will have an osteoporosis-related fracture in her lifetime. Osteoporosis is a disease that is characterized by low bone mass and structural deterioration of the bone tissue. The deterioration of the bone tissue leads to bone fragility and an increase of fractures to the hip, spine, and wrist. The risk factors for osteoporosis are for the most part unchangeable. A woman cannot control her gender, age, body size, ethnicity, or family history.