Understand the risks associated with breast cancer and preventive measures you can take to lower those risks
Courtesy of Prevention.com
Among cancers that affect women, breast cancer has held the number one
spot for many years. It's far ahead of lung cancer, which ranks number
two. In 2007, the American Cancer Society estimates that breast cancer
accounted for 26 percent of new cancer diagnoses among women, compared
with 15 percent for lung cancer.
Specifically, the American Cancer Society estimates that in 2007,
approximately 178,500 women learned that they have invasive breast
cancers. This figure does not include noninvasive, or in situ, breast
cancers, which occur at a much lower rate, with an estimated 20,000
cases in 2007
The good news in all of the statistics is that fewer women are
dying from breast cancer. In fact, in 1987, breast cancer fell behind
lung cancer as the leading cause of cancer deaths among women. Still,
the number of deaths remains high, with the disease estimated to have
claimed the lives of as many as 40,460 women in 2007.
One possible explanation for the declining number of breast cancer
deaths is the increasing availability of mammography, coupled with the
growing awareness among women of the need for periodic mammograms.
Consequently, we're able to detect breast cancer at an earlier stage,
when most forms of the disease are more curable. The rise in
mammography screening also is a likely explanation for the surge in the
number of breast cancer diagnoses in the 1980s, when the incidence rate
jumped by 32 percent. However, of great concern is the recent decline
in the numbers of women undergoing annual mammograms. A recent study
reported a 4% decline in mammography screening rates.
Of course, improvements in treatment are another important factor
in the gradually declining death rate. For example, the number of women
who survive early, localized breast cancers for at least 5 years has
increased from 27 percent in the 1940s to 97 percent today.
You probably are familiar with the statistic about the average woman's
having a one-in-eight chance in her lifetime of developing breast
cancer. While this number is disconcerting, what most women don't
realize is that this statistic reflects cumulative risk over an entire
lifetime--that is, from birth to age 85. Perhaps a more accurate way to
assess risk is to compare the age-specific probabilities of developing
breast cancer.
Age Specific Probabilities:
- • If your current age is 20, the probability of developing breast cancer in the next 10 years is 1 in 1,985, or .05%.
- • If your current age is 30, the probability of developing breast cancer in the next 10 years is 1 in 229, or .44%.
- • If your current age is 40, the probability of developing breast cancer in the next 10 years is 1 in 68, or 1.46%.
- • If your current age is 50, the probability of developing breast cancer in the next 10 years is 1 in 37, or 2.73%.
- • If your current age is 60, the probability of developing breast cancer in the next 10 years is 1 in 26, 3.82%.
- • If your current age is 70, the probability of developing breast cancer in the next 10 years is 1 in 24, 4.14%.
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