Through educational initiatives and community events such as our annual Walk for Life, we're spreading the word about the importance of breast self-exams, mammograms and research. The most common malignancy in women is breast cancer. When breast cancer is detected early, the five-year survival rate is greater than 95 percent. Like all cancers, breast cancer is a disease of the body's cells. Cells in the body normally divide at a regular, steady rate.
New cells form and take the place of old or injured cells.
However, the cells sometimes divide abnormally, growing rapidly and forming a lump. The lump, also called a tumor, can be either benign or malignant. Benign tumors are not cancer and do not invade surrounding tissue or spread to other parts of the body. Malignant tumors are cancer. These cells can invade surrounding tissue and spread, or metastasize, to other parts of the body.