October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month: Facts About Breast Cancer

  • In 2019, an estimated 268,600 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in women in the U.S. as well as 62,930 new cases of non-invasive (in situ) breast cancer.
  • 62% of breast cancer cases are diagnosed at a localized stage, for which the 5-year survival rate is 99%.
  • This year, an estimated 41,760 women will die from breast cancer in the U.S.
  • Although rare, men get breast cancer too. The lifetime risk for U.S. men is about 1 in 1,000.
  • An estimated 2,670 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year in the United States and approximately 500 will die.
  • 1 in 8 women in the United States will develop breast cancer in her lifetime.
  • Breast cancer is the most common cancer in American women, except for skin cancers.
  • There are over 3.5 million breast cancer survivors in the United States.
  • On average, every 2 minutes a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States.
  • Female breast cancer represents 15.2% of all new cancer cases in the U.S.

Adult women of all ages are encouraged to perform a breast self-exam at least once a month.  Johns Hopkins Medical center states, “Forty percent of diagnosed breast cancers are detected by women who feel a lump, so establishing a regular breast self-exam is very important.” While mammograms can help you to detect cancer before you can feel a lump, breast self-exams help you to be familiar with how your breasts look and feel so you can alert your healthcare professional if there are any changes.

For more information, go to:  https://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/

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