Breast Cancer Fact Sheet
According to the National Cancer Institute, breast cancer forms in the lobules and ducts within breast tissue. The National Cancer Institute expects 192,370 new female and 1,910 male breast cancer cases in 2009. The Illinois Department of Health has concluded that most new breast cancer cases occur among women over the age of 50 and that one out of eight women will develop breast cancer at some point in their life.
Symptoms
According to the Mayo Clinic, symptoms of breast cancer include lumps in the breast, blood discharge from a nipple, size or shape changes to the breast, skin changes such as dimpling on the breast, inverted nipples and redness of the breasts. Women should do a self breast exam at least once a month to see if they feel any lumps.
Treatment
According to the National Cancer Institute, there are four different treatment methods for breast cancer: surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and hormone therapy. Many patients undergo therapy that involves a combination of these treatments. The majority of breast cancer patients choose therapy that includes surgery. Radiation treatment involves exposing cancer cells to high-energy x-rays and radiation to stop them from growing or kill them entirely. Hormone therapy involves preventing the production of hormones such as estrogen and tamoxifen that have been known to cause cancer. Chemotherapy uses drugs to stop the growth of cancer cells by killing them or preventing them from dividing. Chemotherapy can be extremely difficult on cancer patients, but is sometimes necessary for their survival.
Deaths
According to the Breast Cancer Research Program, mammography screening has resulted in a decline in breast cancer mortality rates in the 1990s. Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results has determined that breast cancer mortality rates per 100,000 women by race were 23.9 for whites, 33.0 for blacks, 12.4 for Asians\Pacific Islanders, 17.6 for Alaskan\Native Indians, 15.5 for Hispanics, and 24.5 for all women between 2002 and 2006. The American Cancer Society predicts that 40,170 women will die from breast cancer in 2009. Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death for women, right behind lung cancer.
Risk Factors
According to the American Cancer Society, risk factors for breast cancer include older age; being female; genetic inheritance; family history of breast cancer or prior history of breast cancer; dense breast tissue; early menstrual cycles; exposure to radiation, diethylstilbestrol, PCBs; waiting to have children; using postmenopausal hormone therapy; not breastfeeding; drinking; obesity; lack of exercise; high-fat diets; induced abortion; and white race.
Cases
Breast cancer cases by race per 100,000 women were 88.3 for Hispanics, 74.4 for Alaskan\Native Indians, 89.5 for Asians\Pacific Islanders, 117.7 for blacks, 127.8 for whites, and 123.8 for all women between 2002 and 2006.
Funding
The Breast Cancer Research Foundation was founded in 1993 by Evelyn H. Lauder and is the leading non-profit organization for breast cancer funding and research. Since its inception, the Breast Cancer Research Foundation has raised $237 million for breast cancer research.
Tags: breast cancer, breast cancer, Breast Cancer, cancer cases, Cancer Institute, Cancer Research
