Breast Cancer Statistics

One of the female population’s greatest scare is breast cancer. While the likelihood of developing breast cancer is only about 13% for women or around one in eight, breast cancer statistics show that there will be around 178,480 new invasive breast cancer cases in 2007 among the United State’s female population. Currently, breast cancer survivor statistics point out that there are more than two million survivors of the disease in the country. North America is known to have the most number of breast cancer survivors in the whole world.

Moreover, based on the latest breast cancer statistics, carcinoma in situ or CIS is responsible for around 62,030 cases in the year 2007. This non-invasive type of breast cancer is also the earliest stage of the disease. Since breast cancer also happens in men, the invasive breast cancer is said to afflict 2,030 of the male population during the same year.

As per the American Cancer Society, the statistics for breast cancer as cause of death in women is one in thirty-three or 3%. Experts noticed that the death rate has reduced considerably from 1992 to 1996. This finding was credited to modern science’s early detection methods and efficient treatment options.

The 2003 breast cancer statistics revealed that there were 181,646 breast cancer cases among the female population, and 1,826 in men. Further, breast cancer deaths total 41,998, where 41,619 are in women, and the remainder accounts for the male.

Breast cancer statistics show that the disease is most common in older women. That is, about 77% of all breast cancer cases affect women above 50 years old. But even if breast cancer is rare among younger women, their disease is found to be more aggressive than that of the older women. Hence, breast cancer survival statistics is also found to be lower in younger women.

The mere fact that you’re a woman makes you a likely candidate of developing breast cancer. But some studies claim that some ethnic groups have higher incidence rates than others. According to breast cancer statistics, white, African-American, and Hawaiian women possess the highest risks of having invasive breast cancer in the country. It is believed that their incidence rate is four times greater than the group with the lowest incidence rate.

The five year breast cancer survival rate is determined using averages. There are several factors that affect the result: the characteristics of the tumor, genetic background, and the patient’s state of health. Other elements that are likely to interfere with the results include: the patient’s will to survive, immune function, and stress levels. Breast cancer survival statistics show that rate declines beyond the five year period. The earliest stages of the disease are linked with high survival rate than the later stages.

Experts insist that the early detection and treatment of breast cancer is the main element of a person’s survival from the disease. The American Cancer Society said that if breast cancer is restricted to the patient’s breast, there is almost a 100% five year survival rate. Discovering breast cancer early on lessens the need to have therapeutic treatments, reduces the patient’s suffering, and allows women to go on living happy lives.

It takes a lot of time, patience, and hard work to collect data for breast cancer statistics. For several years, doctors have to keep a close watch of the women who have breast cancer. Thus, the breast cancer statistics presented actually represent the patients that were diagnosed and have undergone treatment in the past.

Statistics does not exist to scare us, but rather, to encourage us to be vigilant. Otherwise, we will one day become part of statistics ourselves.