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About
Cancer
Cancer
is a group of diseases characterized by uncontrolled growth and the spread of
abnormal cells. All cancers
involve the malfunction of genes that control cell growth and cell division.*
Cancer
is caused by both external and environmental (chemicals, radiation, and
viruses) and internal (hormones, immune conditions, and inherited mutations)
factors. The factors that cause cancer may act together or in sequence to
initiate or promote the beginning of cancer (carcinogenesis).*
Breast
Cancer Facts and Figures
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Breast
cancer impacts over 240,000 new patients a year in the United States
alone.*
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An
estimated 192,200 new invasive cases of breast cancer are expected to
occur among women in the United States this year alone. *
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In
addition to invasive breast cancer, 46,400 new cases of in situ breast
cancer are expected to occur among women during 2001.*
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Breast
cancer also strikes a small percentage of men.
The risk of breast cancer in men, as in women, increases with age.
About 1,500 new cases of breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed
in men in 2001. The
causes for breast cancer in men are unknown.*
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An
estimated 40,600 deaths (40,200 women, 400 men) from breast cancer are
expected in 2001.*
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Breast
cancer ranks second among cancer deaths in women.
According to the most recent data, mortality rates declined
significantly during 1990-1997 with the largest decreases in younger
women. These decreases are
probably the result of both earlier detection and improved treatment.*
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70%
of breast cancer cases occur in women who have no identifiable risk
factors.
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Every
woman is at risk for developing breast cancer.
This risk increases as a woman ages, rising sharply after the age
of 40, if she has a family history of breast cancer and had her first
child after the age of 30.
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77%
of all breast cancer cases occur in women over 50 years of age.
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30%
of all women over the age of fifty are NOT getting regular
mammograms.*
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By
the time that breast cancer is detected in a mammogram, a woman will have
already had the disease for an average of 6 to 8 years. By the time a
breast lump is found through a breast examination, a woman will have had
the disease for an average of 10 years.
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Because
the cause(s) for breast cancer are uncertain, it is impossible to predict
with certainly who will and will not develop breast cancer.
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While
breast cancer can be detected at an early and treatable stage, breast
cancer cannot be prevented.
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Approximately every 3
minutes a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer and approximately every 12
minutes breast cancer claims another life.
*
(Source: American Cancer Society, 2001)
Risk
of Getting Breast Cancer (source:
National Cancer Institute)
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By age 25
1 in 19,608
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By age 35
1 in 622
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By age 45
1 in 93
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By age 55
1 in 33
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By age 65
1 in 17
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By age 75
1 in 11
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By age 85
1 in 8
Within
a matter of years, the rate is expected to rise to one in seven.
New
research is urgently needed in the following areas, among many other key
research priorities:
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Develop more effective
screening and diagnostic tools to detect and diagnose breast cancer in
patients of all ages, and at an earlier stage of development when the
likelihood of cure and survival is much greater.
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Another priority is to
develop culturally sensitive outreach and educational materials and
methods and breast cancer interventions with a focus on underserved
populations. If people do not
understand the importance of early detection and personal health
responsibility and don’t understand how treatment works and their
treatment options -- the latest technology won’t be enough to adequately
help them..
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We need progressive
biomedical research to give patients treatment modalities that are more
effective and specific, less invasive and less toxic.
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We need long-term
research to help us better understand the role and impact of the
environment and pollution on the immune system, the endocrine system and
on the development of breast cancer and other diseases and threats to our
health.
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And
we need to find ways to cure and prevent breast cancer once and for all.
Last Updated: 02/12/2003
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