Statistics Related To Breast Cancer

In order to keep a track of any disease, it is important for one to follow the statistics. The same thing applies to breast cancer because one is able to make out what pattern breast cancer takes. The pattern that is referred to here is about the number of occurrences with the passage of time.

The following are few statistics about breast cancer that help one to get an idea about the patterns of breast cancer.

In the US:

• Out of seven women at least one of them will develop invasive breast cancer. When this is worked out percentage wise it may be said that 13.4% women may develop invasive breast cancer.
• As of 2004 in the United States, around 215,990 women were diagnosed with this form of cancer. Currently, there are more than two million women who have this disease and are being treated for it.
• Another form of cancer known as Carcinoma in situ (CIS) is a struggle for women. Around 59,390 cases are reported each year. This figure is much less than the previous ones of invasive breast cancer.
• Lung cancer is believed to be the most common killer among all cancers. Second to this is breast cancer. There is indeed a 3% chance the breast cancer will kill a woman, and it is estimated that around 40, 110 women in the US will die from this disease. However, the positive side of the story is that breast cancer as a cause of death has declined statistically. It is believed that the cause of this is the awareness of the disease that has been propagated in recent times. The result of greater awareness is that women detect changes in their breasts earlier, and are able to seek medical attention.

In the UK:

• The most common cancer in the UK is breast cancer, particularly in England and Whales. In the year 2000, there were around 36, 000 patients with this form of cancer. Breast cancer made up 30% of cancers in the country. It is also known that 114 women for every hundred thousand have breast cancer. This is obviously quite a high rate, and one may even assert that the US and Britain are at war with breast cancer judging by the number of patients health care services attend to.
• In the year 2002, it is known that around 11, 500 women perished because of breast cancer. This is a high number and numbers around 30 for every hundred thousand women. These figures make breast cancer in the UK the most common killer among diseases that kill women.
• Out of every five women four are past the age of 50. In the distribution series numbers between 50 and 54, and this has become an important part of the breast screening program in the UK. This is because many of these women will actually be screened for the very first time.
• In contrast to the United States that has demonstrated a decline in the number of breast cancer patients the UK still has to cope with the upward movement of cancer patients. This is to say that the cause of death as breast cancer is still on the rise in spite of the manner in which it has been curtailed since the 1970s. Indeed, since the 1970s, the death rate through breast cancer increased by 70 percent. However, in the past ten years it has increased by 15%.
• Similar to the reason provided for the drop in the number of deaths caused by breast cancer, the UK also has managed to bring down the number of deaths each year due to awareness of breast cancer. For people diagnosed between the period 1991 and 1995, survival rate was around 73%. In contrast to this it was around 78% in 1996-99. With the increased awareness added to it, it is said that women have better chances of surviving breast cancer in comparison with other forms of cancer like cervical cancer.