October 19 - Some Stats

Because I'm on a role, and someone asked me the other day why we make such a big deal about breast cancer:

• About 1 in 8 women in the United States (12%) will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime.
• In 2010, an estimated 207,090 new cases of invasive breast cancer were expected to be diagnosed in women in the U.S., along with 54,010 new cases of non-invasive (in situ) breast cancer.
• About 1,970 new cases of invasive breast cancer were expected to be diagnosed in men in 2010. Less than 1% of all new breast cancer cases occur in men.
• About 39,840 women in the U.S. were expected to die in 2010 from breast cancer, though death rates have been decreasing since 1990. These decreases are thought to be the result of treatment advances, earlier detection through screening, and increased awareness.
• Besides skin cancer, breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among U.S. women. More than 1 in 4 cancers in women (about 28%) are breast cancer.
• In 2010, there were more than 2.5 million breast cancer survivors in the U.S.
• About 70-80% of breast cancers occur in women who have no family history of breast cancer. These occur due to genetic abnormalities that happen as a result of the aging process and life in general, rather than inherited mutations.

Add a vociferous advocacy group, a signature fun color (PINK!), and a TON of fundraising = progress toward a cure! Cancer is NOT sexy, but healthy breasts are, so it's a pretty easy sell.