Breast cancer is a prevalent and costly condition in our society:
- Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer among women in the U.S., after skin cancer.
- Among women in the U.S., breast cancer is the second most common cause of cancer deaths, after lung cancer.
- Today, approximately three million women in the US are living with the breast cancer, including two million who have already been diagnosed, and another one million who do not yet know they have the disease.
- Breast cancer is the leading cause of death for women between the ages of 40 and 55.
- Currently, a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer approximately every three minutes in the United States.
- According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), among new cases of breast cancer each year, about 60,000 women are diagnosed with carcinoma in situ, about 85 percent of whom have ductal carcinoma in situ. Well over 200,000 additional women each year are found to have invasive breast cancer.
- More than 40,000 deaths occur from breast cancer in the US alone each year.
- Regardless of age, African-American women have the highest breast cancer mortality rates.
- According to the ACS, if current rates stay the same, a woman's chance of developing breast cancer as she passes through different age brackets is roughly as follows:
- birth to 39 - 1 out of 207
- 40 to 59 - 1 out of 24
- 60 to 79 - 1 out of 13
- during her lifetime - 1 out of 7
Jefferson’s Breast Care Center is determined to battle these statistics and help turn them around for women. And there is encouraging news too:
- The death rate for breast cancer has been decreasing over the last 15 years, due to advances in detection and treatment.
- Screening through mammography and clinical breast exams is highly effective in identifying breast cancer early.
- We can cure many cancers through treatment, especially those found early.
- All women can take measures to reduce their risk of breast cancers.
Advances against breast cancer are helping to reduce mortality, and close follow-up for women with breast cancer is increasing survival and improving overall outcome.