HEALTH

Breast cancer is cancer arising in breast tissue. Cancer is simply a group of abnoraml cells that have abnormal growth patterns.

• Although breast cancer is primarily a disease of women, almost 1% of breast cancers occur in men. In 2007, it is estimated that 2,030 men in the U.S. will develop invasive breast cancer.



• Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in women with the exception of nonmelanoma skin cancers. It is the second leading cause of death by cancer in women, following only Lung cancer.
  



• In 2007, the American Cancer Society estimated that 178,480 new cases of invasive breast cancer would be diagnosed among women in the United States, and that a further 62,030 new cases of in-situ (noninvasive) breast cancer would be diagnosed.



• A woman has a Lifetime risk of developing invasive breast cancer of about one in eight, or 13%.



• Death rates from breast cancer have been gradually declining and continue to decline. These decreases are likely due both to increased awareness and screening and improved treatment methods.