One in three women will develop cancer in her lifetime. There are some risk factors that all women should know:

BREAST CANCER

Statistics:
Each year there are over 182,000 new cases of invasive breast cancer, and more than 40,000 women die from breast cancer every year. Excluding skin cancers, breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in women, and the second leading cause of cancer deaths in women. There are more than 2.5 million breast cancer survivors living in the United States.

Rates of breast cancer have also been found to vary across different ethnic groups. Caucasian (non-Hispanic), Native Hawaiian, and African-American women are more likely to develop breast cancer than women of other ethnicities. Of all groups, African American women have the highest mortality rate at every age.

A woman’s chance of being diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime is 1 out of 8.

Despite common misperceptions, more than 2,000 men are also diagnosed with breast cancer each year. Of those, approximately 450 will die from the disease

Symptoms:
At its earliest stages there are usually no symptoms of breast cancer. The earliest signs of breast cancer are lumps, or hard masses, inside the breast tissue. These lumps can be detected through a mammogram, clinical breast exam, or regular breast self-exam. When the cancer has grown, symptoms may include lumps, thickness, swelling, breast distortion, tenderness, skin irritation, dimpling, nipple pain, redness or scaliness, and nipple retraction.

Risk Factors:
A woman’s risk for breast cancer increases with age. Other factors which can increase a woman’s risk include a personal or family history of breast cancer, inherited genetic mutations in the BRCA1and BRCA2 genes, menstrual periods that started early and/or ended late in life, use of post-menopausal hormonal therapies, never having children, having a first child after the age of 30, consuming one or more alcoholic drinks daily, smoking, or having a sedentary lifestyle (little exercise).

Prevention:
Women aged 40 or older should have an annual mammogram, or X-ray of the breast, and perform monthly breast self-examinations. Women aged 20 to 39 should have a clinical breast exam as part of a periodic health exam by a health professional.

Treatment:
Typical treatment for breast cancer includes a lumpectomy (removal of the tumor or mass) or a mastectomy (removal of the breast). If it’s believed that the cancer has possibly spread beyond the breast, radiation therapy, chemotherapy or hormone therapy may be prescribed. In most cases, a combination of treatments is used.

Survival:
There is a 98% five-year survival rate for women with localized breast cancer (malignant cancer that has not spread).