Breast Cancer Statistics

Updated November, 2010

It is estimated that 207,090 women will be diagnosed with and 39,840 women will die of cancer of the breast in 2010.[1]
Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women, excluding cancers of the skin, accounting for more than 25% cancers diagnosed in US women. Breast cancer occurs in men as well, accounting for 1% of all breast cancer diagnoses.[2]
Massachusetts has the 7^th highest incidence rate of breast cancer in the United States.[3]
Based on rates from 2005-2007, 12.15% of women born today will be diagnosed with cancer of the breast at some time during their lifetime. This number can also be expressed as 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with cancer of the breast during their lifetime.[4]
Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in women, behind lung cancer. In 2010, approximately 39,840 women and 390 men are expected to die from breast cancer.[5]
The National Cancer Institute estimates that approximately 2.6 million women with a history of breast cancer were alive in January 2007.
Every woman is at risk for breast cancer. More than 50% of breast cancers occur in women who have no identifiable risk factors other than age.[6]
Many risk factors for breast cancer are related to prolonged exposure to estrogen and other hormones that play a role in a woman’s menstrual cycle. These risk factors include early menarche, late menopause, having children late in life, never bearing children, and never breastfeeding.[7]
According to the National Cancer Institute, more than 100,000 chemicals are in use today in the United States.[8] Less than 10 percent of these chemicals have been tested for their effects on human health.