Since this is breast cancer awareness month, I thought that I’d share some facts related to breast cancer and cancer in general.
While any cancer diagnosis can be devastating, there is a lot of hope for women diagnosed with breast cancer.
According to the American Cancer Society, breast cancer is the number two cause of death among women who develop cancer. ACS estimates that 15% of all cancer deaths this year will be from breast cancer. Of the estimated 668,470 cases of cancer in women, 32% of those are breast cancers.
The short term outlook for breast cancer patients is positive. In fact, the 5 year survival rates for breast cancer patients is 87% (through the year 2000). It is the third highest survival rate, after Melanoma (skin cancer) at 90% and prostate, which has an amazing 98% survival rate.
Progress in treating breast cancer has advanced significantly, which is evidenced by the increased survival rates and the invention of more efficient and less painful treatments.
