October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, an annual campaign to increase knowledge and awareness of the disease. Have a look at some of the staggering statistics about breast cancer to understand why this is an important cause for so many people. Although tremendous advances have been made, there is still work to be done into the causes, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of the disease.
- About 1 in 8 women in the U.S. will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime.
- In the U.S., an average of 112 women will die of breast cancer every day, or one every 15 minutes.
- Breast cancer risk doubles for women with a first-degree relative (mother, sister, or daughter) with the disease.
- Most women who get breast cancer do not have a close relative with the disease.
- The most common genetic cause is an inherited mutation in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes.
- Less than 1 percent of the general population has a BRCA mutation.
- For women 20 years of age, the odds of developing breast cancer are 1 in 1,760. If you are 50 years of age, the odds are 1 in 43.
- Approximately 2,100 men in the U.S. will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year.
- There are 67 FDA approved drugs to treat breast cancer.
- A diagnosis is not a death sentence—most women diagnosed with breast cancer survive and lead healthy lives.
To read about SBP’s research in breast cancer, click these articles:
Study explains control of cell metabolism in patient response to breast cancer drugs Proteins conspire to make breast cancer cells resistant to drug treatment A breast-cancer research gift from the Cambridge School