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Breast Cancer

Facts about Breast Cancer in the USA

Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in women in the United States. Both its cause and the means for its cure remain undiscovered. About two million breast cancer survivors are alive in America today.

In 1999, 175,000 new cases of female breast cancer will be diagnosed, and 43,300 women will die from the disease. About 40,000 cases of female in situ (preinvasive) breast cancer will be diagnosed in 1999. Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death for all women (after lung cancer), and the leading cause of cancer death in all women between the ages of 40 and 55.

Men develop breast cancer too, although its incidence is low. In 1999, 1,300 male cases will be diagnosed, and 400 men will die from the disease.

In the United States, one out of nine women will develop breast cancer in her lifetime – a risk that was one out of 14 in 1960. This year, a breast cancer will be newly diagnosed every three minutes, and a woman will die from breast cancer every 12 minutes.

Every woman is at risk for breast cancer. The risk of developing breast cancer increases as a woman ages, if she has a family history of breast cancer, has never had children or had her first child after age 30, and if she has had prior radiation therapy for Hodgkin’s disease. However, over 70 percent of cases occur in women who have no identifiable risk factors.

Breast cancer cannot be prevented. However, there is now a risk reduction option available for women at very high risk, such as the estimated five to ten percent of American women with multiple close family members who have had the disease. In 1998, the drug tamoxifen was shown to reduce breast cancer cases by 50 percent over four years in a large research study of high risk women, and tamoxifen was FDA-approved for use in this group. The drug’s risks, benefits and side-effects must be thoroughly discussed by a woman and her physician.

Breast cancer can be detected at an early, treatable stage in women age 40 and older. More widespread use of regular screening mammography has been a major contributor to recent improvements in the breast cancer survival rate. A 1996 survey showed that more than half of U.S. women age 50 and older reported having had a mammogram within the last year. A screening mammogram is a simple, low-dose x-ray procedure that can reveal breast cancer at its earliest stage, up to two years before it is large enough to be felt. In NABCO’s view, annual screening mammography should begin at age 40 and continue into a woman’s 70s or 80s.

Annual breast examinations by a medical professional are a required complement to annual screening mammography. Some breast irregularities are found by women themselves, yet women do not perform breast self-examination (BSE) regularly. Although BSE has never been proven to affect survival, a recommended component of every woman’s breast health program is to become familiar with her breasts and what “normal” feels like to her.

Over 80 percent of biopsied breast abnormalities are proven benign, but any breast lump must be evaluated by a physician. New, less invasive biopsy procedures permit removal of breast tissue in a physician’s or radiologist’s office.

If detected early, breast cancer can often be treated effectively with surgery that preserves the breast, followed by radiation therapy. This local therapy is often accompanied by systemic chemotherapy and/or hormonal therapy. Five-year survival after treatment for early-stage breast cancer is 97 percent.

Breast cancer incidence increases with age, rising sharply after age 40. About 80 percent of invasive breast cancer occurs in women over age 50.

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