It is estimated, that every three minutes a woman in the United States is diagnosed with breast cancer. This cancer is the leading cancer among white and African American women. This cancer incidence in women has increased from one in 20 in 1960 to one in eight today.

While the majority of cancer occurs in older people, young people are not immune to this disease. This cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in women today (after lung cancer) and is the most common cancer among women, excluding non-melanoma skin cancers.

According to the American Cancer Society, about 1.3 million women will be diagnosed with this cancer annually worldwide and about 465,000 will die from the disease. Breast cancer death rates have been dropping steadily since 1990, according to the Society, because of earlier detection and better treatments.

However, about 40,910 breast cancer deaths are expected in 2008. According to the American Cancer Society, in general, this cancer rates have risen about 30% in the past 25 years in western countries, due in part to increased screening which detects the cancer in earlier stages. In the United States, though, this cancer rates decreased by 10% between 2000-2004, due in part to a reduction in the use of hormone replacement therapy. Although this cancer rates are rising in many western countries, deaths from the disease have decreased in some countries as a result of improved screening and treatment.

So when looking at individual statistics by age group, the probability of developing breast cancer within the next 10 years are as follows:

By age 20... 1 out of 229

By age 30... 1 out of 68

By age 40... 1 out of 37

By age 50... 1 out of 26

By age 60... 1 out of 24

By age 70... 1 out of 8

Plus, in someone's lifetime, 1 out of every 1985 women will develop this cancer. This risk model is of course based on population averages. Each woman's cancer risk may be higher or lower, depending upon a several factors, including family history, genetics, age of menstruation, and other factors that have not yet been identified.

Here are some more gloomy facts on breast cancer statistics...

This cancer is the most common cancer among women.

In 2008, an estimated 22,400 women will be diagnosed with this cancer and 5,300 will die of it.

An estimated 170 men will be diagnosed with this cancer and 50 will die of it.

On average, 431 women will be diagnosed with this cancer every week.

On average, 102 women will die of this cancer every week.

One in 9 women is expected to develop this cancer during her lifetime. One in 28 will die of it.

Breast cancer death rates have declined in all ages combined and in every age group since at least the mid 1990s.

Incidence and death rates for this cancer have declined since 1969 in women aged 20-39.

While this cancer is less common at a young age (i.e., in their thirties), younger women tend to have more aggressive cancers than older women, which may explain why survival rates are lower among younger women.

All women are at risk for developing this cancer. The older a woman is, the greater her chances of developing this cancer. Approximately 77% of this cancer cases occur in women over 50 years of age.

White, Hawaiian, and African-American women have the highest incidence of invasive cancer in the United States (approximately four times higher than the lowest group).

Korean, American Indian, and Vietnamese women have the lowest incidence of invasive ancer in the United States.

African-American have the highest death rate from this cancer and are more likely to be diagnosed with a later stage of breast cancer than White women.

In the age groups, 30-54 and 55-69 years, African-American women have the highest death rate from this cancer, followed by Hawaiian women, and white non-Hispanic women. However, in the 70 year old age group, the death rate from this cancer for white women is higher than for African-American.

Pay particular attention to the statistics on Korean, American Indian, and Vietnamese women which have the lowest incidence of invasive breast cancer in the United States. Why do you think that is? If you've been paying attention to my other articles, you'll soon come to realize that this is because of their lifestyles, and more specifically their low-fat diets.



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