Breast Cancer: Facts and Figures

WHAT IS BREAST CANCER?

Breast cancer occurs when cells of the breast grow in an unrestrained or abnormal manner, increasing both in size and in number. Cancer cells can interfere with the normal function of the breast and can also spread to other parts of the body.

With the exception of skin cancer, breast cancer is the most common cancer among American women; about one in eight will have a diagnosis of breast cancer. , Every year, more than 210,000 women will be diagnosed according to the National Institutes of Health and the American Cancer Society. Carcinoma in-situ, the earliest form of breast cancer (sometime called "pre-cancer") will affect nearly 60,000 additional women in the United States each year.

There is some good news, however. Recent data show:

• A decrease in the number of new breast cancer diagnoses


• Improved survival for those women who have breast cancer

There are presently about 2.5 million breast cancer survivors in the United States. Improved survival is likely the result both of early diagnosis and of advances in available treatment. In addition, better and more sophisticated methods of breast reconstruction than were ever available before now, mean that women facing mastectomy have excellent options for breast reconstruction.