Breast Cancer Facts & Statistics 

FACTS:

• Breast Cancer is a type of cancer where cells in the breast tissue divide and grow without normal control  About 85% of breast cancers originate in the mammary ducts; about 15% begin in the lobules.  Cancerous tumors in the breast typically grow very slowly so that by the time one is large enough to be felt, it may have been growing for a long time.
• Invasive breast cancer develops when abnormal cells from inside the lobules or ducts break out into the surrounding breast tissue.  This gives the cancer the chance to spread to the lymph nodes and in advances stages to organs such as the liver, lungs and the bones.
• When abnormal cells grow inside the lobules or milk ducts but have not yet spread to the surrounding tissue or beyond it is called carcinoma in situ (in place) inside the lobules or ducts where they first developed.  The cells in carcinoma in situ are not fully cancerous because they have not developed the ability to invade tissues outside of the ducts or lobules and metastasize (spread).  They are often referred to as precancerous conditions because they can either develop into or raise the risk of invasive cancer.

STATISTICS:

• An estimated 182,460 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to occur among women in the United States during 2008.
• An estimated 40,480 women will die from breast cancer.
• It is estimated that 1,990 men will be diagnosed and 450 men will die of breast cancer during 2008.
• In addition to invasive breast cancer, 67,770 new cases of in situ breast cancer are expected to occur among women in 2008. Of these, approximately 85 percent will be ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS).

Source: American Cancer Society Cancer Facts & Figures 2008.

To learn more about how breast cancer affects African Americans, Ashkenazi Jewish Women, Asian Americans, Hispanics/Latinas, Lesbians, Native Americans, Older Women, Younger Women, Pregnant Women and Men, click here.