Breast Cancer Facts

breast cancer facts

Breast Cancer has now surpassed Lung Cancer with the highest incidence globally, striking every day.

5-YEAR RELATIVE SURVIVAL

Relative survival is an estimate of the percentage of patients who would be expected to survive the effects of their cancer. It excludes the risk of dying from other causes. Because survival statistics are based on large groups of people, they cannot be used to predict exactly what will happen to an individual patient. No two patients are entirely alike, and treatment and responses to treatment can vary greatly.

NEW CASES AND DEATH RATES

Who Gets This Cancer?

Female breast cancer is most common in middle-aged and older women. Although rare, men can develop breast cancer as well. The rate of new cases of female breast cancer was 132.5 per 100,000 women per year based on 2019–2023 cases, age-adjusted.

Who dies from Female Breast Cancer?

According to Seer U.S. 2020-2024, overall, female breast cancer survival is good. However, women who are diagnosed at an advanced age may be more likely than younger women to die of the disease. Female breast cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the United States. The death rate was 18.9 per 100,000 women per year based on 2020–2024, age-adjusted.

SEER is supported by the Surveillance Research Program (SRP) in NCI's Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences (DCCPS). SRP provides national leadership in the science of cancer surveillance as well as analytical tools and methodological expertise in collecting, analyzing, interpreting, and disseminating reliable population-based statistics.

BREAST CANCER FACTS VS. MYTHS

Don’t know what is myth or fact about breast cancer?

We’re here to help clear up 10 paths of confusion along the breast cancer roadway.

Only women get breast cancer

Men get breast cancer too. While rare (about 1% of cases), men have breast tissue and can develop the disease, often diagnosed later due to lack of awareness.

Young women do not get breast cancer

While risk increases with age, younger women (in their 20s and 30s) can and do get breast cancer.

If you have dense breasts, mammograms are useless.

While dense tissue can hide tumors, mammograms are still useful. Doctors often add an ultrasound or MRI for backup.

A biopsy (needle test) or exposure to air causes cancer

to spread.

There is no evidence that performing a biopsy causes cancer cells to spread to other parts of the body.

The "one in eight" statistic means

I have a high risk right now.

This is a lifetime risk. The risk is low when you are young (e.g., 1 in 227 at age 30) and increases as you age, approaching 1 in 8 after age 70.

Mammograms cause breast

cancer or cause it to spread.

Mammograms use a very low dose of radiation (equivalent to 7 weeks of natural background exposure). They do not cause cancer or cause existing cancer to spread.

A lump is the only symptom of breast cancer.

Other symptoms include skin dimpling (looking like an orange peel), nipple discharge (especially bloody), redness, scaly skin, or changes in the shape/size of the breast.

Stress or personality traits cause breast cancer

Current science has not established these as direct causes of breast cancer, though chronic stress can affect overall health negatively.

Wearing an underwire bra causes breast cancer.

There is no scientific evidence linking bras (of any type) to breast cancer. The theory that they block lymph drainage has been debunked.

If you have a "lumpy" breast (fibrocystic breasts), you are at higher risk.

This common condition is benign (non-cancerous) and does not increase your risk, though it can make detecting new lumps harder.