Breast Cancer Facts & Statistics
Every 3 minutes, a woman in the United States is diagnosed with breast cancer.
Every 13 minutes a woman in the United States dies from breast cancer.
Breast cancer is the most common cancer among American women, except for skin cancers. About 1 in 8 (12%) of women in the US will develop invasive breast cancer during their lifetime.
Breast cancer is the second leading cause of death in women, after lung cancer.
Breast cancer accounts for nearly 1 in every 4 cancers diagnosed in US women.
Breast cancer risk increases with age and every woman is at risk. During 2002-2006, woman aged 20-24 had the lowest incidence rate, 1.4 cases per 100,000 women. Women aged 75-79 had the highest incidence rat, 441.9 per 100,000 women.
Having a first degree relative (mother, sister, or daughter) with breast cancer can double a woman’s risk.
Less than 15% of women with breast cancer have a family history of the disease.
African American women have a higher rate of death from breast cancer than any other race.
About 42,690 women died from breast cancer in 2020 in the United States, including 950 from Tennessee.
In 2020, about 5,760 new cases of breast cancer were diagnosed.
You are never too young to develop breast cancer!! Breast self-exams should begin by age 20. Women in their 20s and 30s should have a clinical breast exam as part of a periodic health exam by a health professional, at least every 3 years. Women between the ages of 40 and 45 may choose to have a yearly mammogram. Women who are 45 to 54 years of age should have a breast exam by a health professional once a year, but may switch to every other year at age 55. Screening should continue as long as a woman is in good health and is expected to live 10 more years or longer.
** Facts and statistics are courtesy of the American Cancer Society**