Breast Cancer By The Numbers
The American Cancer Society estimates that 232,670 women will learn they have breast cancer this year, and 40,000 will die from the disease.
Still, the war on cancer has produced steady progress over the past four decades against the disease that surveys identify as womens most feared. Among women diagnosed with invasive breast cancer between 1975 and 1977, 74.8% survived for five years. In the period from 2003 to 2009, five-year survival reached 90.3%.
More than 2.9 million U.S. women with a history of breast cancer were alive on January 1, 2012some cancer-free, some still undergoing treatment.
Heres a look at some key statistics:
Categorizations Of Breast Cancer Survivors
Many cancer organizations find the current definition of breast cancer survivorship too broad. The definition applies those who have just been diagnosed and those who are 20-year survivors into the same group. From a clinical standpoint, not all breast cancer survivors are alike.
To specifically designate where someone is in their breast cancer journey, some oncologists use different functional terms. For example, there are people who are acute survivors and those that are long-term survivors. There is also an area in the middle in which people have had their breast cancer for some time but are still in either active treatment, or receiving maintenance or preventive treatment.
Here’s a sense of how breast cancer survivors may be categorized:
How Many People Survive Breast Cancer
- Almost nine in ten of women survive breast cancer for five years or more.
- Breast cancer survival is improving and has doubled in the past 40 years in the UK due to a combination of improvements in treatment and care, earlier detection through screening and a focus on targets, including faster diagnosis.
- An estimated 600,000 people are alive in the UK after a diagnosis of breast cancer. This is predicted to rise to 1.2 million in 2030.
For many the overwhelming emotional and physical effects of the disease can be long-lasting.
Every year around 11,500women and 85 men die from breast cancer in the UK thats nearly 1,000 deaths each month, 31 each day or one every 45 minutes.
Breast cancer is the fourth most common cause of cancer death in the UK.
Breast cancer is a leading cause of death in women under 50 in the UK.
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What Is Secondary Breast Cancer
Secondary breast cancer is when breast cancer spreads from the breast to other parts of the body, becoming incurable. Breast cancer most commonly spreads to the bones, brain, lungs or liver.
While it cannot be cured, there are treatments that can help control certain forms of the disease for some time and relieve symptoms to help people live well for as long as possible.
There are an estimated 35,000 people living with secondary breast cancer in the UK. In around 5% of women, breast cancer has already spread by the time it is diagnosed.
Incidence And Survival Rates
Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer among women in 140 of 180 countries worldwide. Between 2008 and 2012 breast cancer incidence increased by 20 per cent, while mortality has increased by 14 per cent. In the US, it is estimated that there are currently 3.1 million breast cancer survivors.
Overall survival rates for breast cancer vary world wide, but in general survival rates have improved. This is because the majority of breast cancer cases are diagnosed at an earlier and localised stage, and improved surgery and adjuvant tailored treatment regimes are available. In many countries the five-year survival rate for women diagnosed with Stage I/II breast cancer is 8090 per cent. If it has reached the distant stage the survival rate falls to 24 per cent. The five-year prevalence of breast cancer per 100,000 is 665 in Western Europe, 745 in North America, and 170 in Eastern Asia.
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Mathew Knowles Discovered He Carries The Brca2 Gene
In October of 2019, Mathew Knowles, father of celebrity singers Beyoncé and Solange Knowles, announced that he had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Knowles suspected something was wrong after noticing a series of dots of blood on his shirt, he told Michael Strahan in an interview on Good Morning America. His doctor recommended a mammogram, which confirmed that he had breast cancer.
Knowles has since learned that he carries the BRCA2 gene mutation, which escalates risk for breast cancer, as well as prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer, melanoma, and ovarian cancer. Knowles says that there is a long history of breast cancer in his family. Men make up the minority of cases of breast cancer diagnoses: about 2,200 men are diagnosed with the disease each year, compared with approximately 245,000 women, according to the CDC.
Wanda Sykes Comedian Opted For A Preventive Double Mastectomy
The comedian discovered she had stage 0 breast cancer during a follow-up to her breast reduction surgery in 2011. Since she had a history of cancer on her mother’s side of the family, the then 47-year-old Wanda Sykes decided to have a preventive double mastectomy. “I had both breasts removed because now I have zero chance of having breast cancer,” she explained on The Ellen Degeneres Show.
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Health Disparities In Young African Americans
In addition to these unique issues, research has shown that young African American women face even greater challenges.
- African American women under age 35 have rates of breast cancer two times higher than caucasian women under age 35.14
- African Americans under age 35 die from breast cancer three times as often as caucasian women of the same age.14
- Researchers believe that access to healthcare and the quality of healthcare available may explain these disparities. But scientists continue to investigate.
- Research also shows that young African Americans are more likely to get aggressive forms of breast cancer than anyone else.14
Carly Simon Singer Underwent Chemo To Battle Breast Cancer
Many breast cancer survivors take up the cause, and musician Carly Simon is no exception. After being diagnosed with breast cancer in 1997 and undergoing treatment including chemotherapy, she said she hoped for more research into the disease. As Simon told CNN.com, “There’s a feeling that if this had been a man’s disease, it would have been licked already.”
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Suzanne Somers Actress And Entrepreneur Beat Breast Cancer
Actress and entrepreneur Suzanne Somers may be best known for her roles on Threes Company and other sitcoms, but she is also a breast cancer survivor. “When I was diagnosed with cancer, I was shocked,” she told Everyday Health. “I never smoked. I never drank to excess. I ate right. And I didn’t abuse pharmaceuticals. I had done the work! But I learned that we’re all at risk for cancer.”
Why Patients May Not Inform Their Doctors
While many who talk to their doctors about using Cannabis products like CBD gummies find the doctor to be well-informed and supportive, this is not always the case. In the survey, it was found that a significant percentage of patients are hesitant to bring up Cannabis usage in fact, only 39% told their doctors about it.
Several factors likely influence the reluctance that patients have to speak to their doctors. The reasons probably include the fact that some Cannabis products, namely those derived from Marijuana, remain illegal at the federal level, and some may fear that having a conversation with their doctor about its usage could result in notes on their medical records. There is also a lot of cultural stigmatization from the decades of negative propaganda regarding Cannabis, and many may not want to be judged for admitting to its usage.
Talking to your doctor about Cannabis usage is critical because some cannabis products may interfere with treatments or make patients vulnerable to new side effects.
If you wish to use Cannabis products, but your doctor is not willing to discuss it with you, you may want to seek out a medical expert who is more open to your questions and health goals. This knowledge has become ever more critical now that cancer is a qualifying condition in most states with medical cannabis programs.
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Giuliana Rancic Tv Personality Underwent A Double Mastectomy
The former E! News host and star of E!’s Giuliana & Bill show revealed she had been diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer in October 2011. The then 36-year-old Giuliana Rancic had gotten a mammogram before receiving another round of IVF treatment for infertility when her doctor discovered the tumor. In December 2011, she underwent a double mastectomy and reconstructive surgery.
Rancic refused to let her diagnosis get in the way of having children. She and her husband had a son via a surrogate in August 2012. She also launched Fab-U-Wish, an initiative that grants fashion, beauty, and celebrity-themed wishes to women undergoing treatment for breast cancer, which she now operates in partnership with the nonprofit organization The Pink Agenda.
Interactive Statistics With Seer*explorer
With SEER*Explorer, you can…
- Create custom graphs and tables
SEER*Explorer is an interactive website that provides easy access to a wide range of SEER cancer statistics. It provides detailed statistics for a cancer site by gender, race, calendar year, age, and for a selected number of cancer sites, by stage and histology.
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Mammography And Rates Of Early Detection Over Time
Mammography screening became widely available in the U.S. in the 1980s and 1990s. During this time, diagnoses of early stage breast cancer, including ductal carcinoma in situ , increased greatly . This was likely due to the increased use of mammography screening during this time period .
Among women 50 and older, rates of DCIS increased from 7 cases per 100,000 women in 1980 to 83 cases per 100,000 women in 2008 . From 2012-2016, rates of DCIS declined by about 2 percent per year .
Edie Falco Actress Survived Stage 1 Breast Cancer
Actress Edie Falco, known for her roles on The Sopranos and Nurse Jackie, learned she had stage 1 breast cancer in September 2003. Speaking to Health magazine in 2011, Falco related that, at first, the breast diagnosis left her gasping for breath, until she realized she was a strong woman and had the resources to fight it. Nowadays, not only is her career flourishing but she is also raising two children.
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Many Breast Cancer Survivors May Die Of Heart Disease Doctors Warn
By Lisa Rapaport, Reuters Health
5 Min Read
– The same advances in breast cancer treatment that have dramatically improved survival in recent years have also left a growing number of women vulnerable to potentially fatal cardiovascular problems, the American Heart Association warns.
Chemotherapy can weaken the heart muscle, some newer targeted medicines can increase the risk of heart failure, and radiation can cause heart rhythm disorders and structural damage in the arteries and heart valves, the AHA emphasizes in its scientific statement on the link between breast cancer and heart disease.
Cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death in women, and this risk increases with age, noted Dr. Laxmi Mehta, lead author of the statement and section director of preventive cardiology and womens cardiovascular health at the Ohio State University Medical center in Columbus.
So as breast cancer survivors are living longer, their risks of cardiovascular disease increase, Mehta said by email.
Breast cancer survivors, especially women over age 65, are more likely to die from cardiovascular disease than tumors, the AHA statement stresses.
This doesnt mean women should skip lifesaving cancer therapies, but it does mean they should be aware of the cardiac side effects and be monitored for cardiovascular disease during treatment and afterwards, Mehta added.
Several cancer treatments have long been linked to an increased risk of heart problems in the future.
Incidence Rates And The Number Of New Cases
To know whether or not breast cancer rates are changing over time, you have to compare rates, rather than the number of new cases.
For example, lets compare the number of new cases of breast cancer in U.S. in 2009 to the number of new cases in 2016. In 2009, there were an estimated 192,370 new cases of breast cancer in U.S. women . In 2016, there were an estimated 246,660 new cases .
Although more breast cancer cases occurred in 2016 than in 2009, this doesnt mean the rate of breast cancer increased over this time period.
We expect the number of cases to increase over time because the population of the U.S. increases over time . The more people there are, the more cancers there will be.
Our population is also living longer . Since age increases the risk of breast cancer, we expect to have more breast cancers over time.
To know if breast cancer rates are changing over time, we look at incidence rates, rather than the number of new cases. The incidence rate shows the number of breast cancer cases in a set population size. Its usually written as the number of cases in a population of 100,000 people.
The breast cancer incidence rate among women in 2009 was 131 and the estimated breast cancer incidence rate in 2016 was also 131 . This means there were 131 breast cancer cases per 100,000 women in the U.S. population in both time periods.
So, although the number of breast cancer cases increased over time, breast cancer rates were fairly stable.
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Honoring Breast Cancer Survivors And Their Families By Jen Powell Lpc
Fighter. Victor. Overcomer. Champion. Whichever term you choose, the month of October acknowledges and honors the women who have battled and overcome breast cancer. Breast cancer awareness month reminds us of how resilient individuals can be when faced with the challenges that life throws at them.
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide and the second most common cancer overall. It is a leading cause of cancer death in less developed countries and the second leading cause of cancer death in American women, surpassing lung cancer for the first time in 2020. According to the American Cancer Society, there are currently more than 3.8 million breast cancer survivors in the United States, including women still being treated and those who have completed treatment. Currently, the average risk of a woman in the United States developing breast cancer sometime in her life is about 13% .
Encouraging news and reasons to be hopeful:
Breast cancer survivors are not statistics. They are our mothers, daughters, sisters, friends, co-workers and they all remind us of how resilient we can be. Surviving breast cancer often provides a new sense of meaning and purpose in the lives of those that have fought and overcome the battle.
Helpful Breast Cancer Resources, locally and nationally
Susan G. Komen Greater Atlanta: Includes low-cost screening and diagnostic services information.
Breast Cancer Incidence Rates Worldwide
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide.
Its estimated more than 2 million new cases of breast cancer occurred worldwide among women in 2020 .
Breast cancer incidence rates around the world vary
In general, rates of breast cancer are higher in developed countries than in developing countries .
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Growing And Aging Population Will Increase Cancer Survivor Count Despite Trends In Incidence
- Date:
- American Cancer Society
- Summary:
- There were more than 16.9 million Americans with a history of cancer on Jan. 1, 2019, a number that is projected to reach more than 22.1 million by 2030 based on the growth and aging of the population alone.
There were more than 16.9 million Americans with a history of cancer on January 1, 2019, a number that is projected to reach more than 22.1 million by 2030 based on the growth and aging of the population alone, according to estimates from Cancer Treatment and Survivorship Statistics, 2019. The report is produced every three years by the American Cancer Society in collaboration with the National Cancer Institute to help the public health community better serve this growing population. It appears in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, with a companion consumer edition published as Cancer Treatment and Survivorship Facts & Figures.
The number of cancer survivors continues to increase in the United States even as incidence rates are stable in women and declining in men. This is due to a growing and aging population, as well as increases in cancer survival due to advances in treatment and early detection. The report uses the term “cancer survivor” to describe a person who has a history of cancer, from the time of diagnosis through the remainder of their life. However, it is important to note that many people with a history of cancer do not embrace this term.
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Statistics At A Glance: The Burden Of Cancer In The United States
Statistics at a Glance: The Burden of Cancer Worldwide
- Cancer is among the leading causes of death worldwide. In 2018, there were 18.1 million new cases and 9.5 million cancer-related deaths worldwide.
- Generally, cancer rates are highest in countries whose populations have the highest life expectancy, education level, and standard of living. But for some cancer types, such as cervical cancer, the reverse is true, and the incidence rate is highest in countries in which the population ranks low on these measures.
Source: International Agency for Research on Cancer
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A Word From Get Meds Info
More and more people are surviving cancer than ever before. Therefore, in addition to living with and managing cancer, planning your life after cancer is equally important. But you may be anxious about the future and the possibility of recurrence. It, therefore, may be a good idea to look into a survivorship program to help you get the support you needboth medical and psychological. Speak to your oncologist about such options in your area.