Cancer Facts

Breast Cancer

• Breast cancer is a malignant (cancerous) tumor that starts from cells of the breast. The disease occurs mostly in women, but men can get breast cancer as well.

• About 211,240 women in the U.S. will be found to have invasive breast cancer in 2005.
• Currently, there are more than 2 million women living in the U.S. who have been treated for breast cancer.
• The chance of a woman having invasive breast cancer some time during her life is about one in seven.

• Gender
• It is about 100 times more common in women than in men.
• Age
• Nearly eight out of 10 breast cancers are found in women over the age of 50.
• Family history
• The risk of getting breast cancer is higher among women who have a close blood relative with this disease.
• Having a mother, sister or daughter with breast cancer nearly doubles a woman's risk.
• Personal history of breast cancer
• A woman with cancer in one breast has a greater chance of getting a new cancer in the other breast.
• Race
• White woman are slightly more likely to get breast cancer than are African-American women. But African Americans are more likely to die of this cancer.

• Carcinoma in situ
• This term is used for early stage cancer, when it is confined to the place where it started.
• Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS)
• This is the most common type of noninvasive breast cancer. DCIS means that the cancer is confined to the ducts.
• Lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS)
• This condition begins in the milk-making glands but does not go through the wall of the lobules. Although not a true cancer, having LCIS increases a woman's risk of getting cancer later. For this reason, it's important for women with LCIS to follow the screening guidelines for breast cancer.
• Infiltrating (invasive) ductal carcinoma (IDC)
• This cancer starts in a milk passage or duct, breaks through the wall of the duct and invades the fatty tissue of the breast. From there it can spread to other parts of the body. IDC is the most common type of breast cancer. It accounts for about 80 percent of invasive breast cancers.
• Infiltrating (invasive) lobular carcinoma (ILC)
• This cancer starts in the milk glands or lobules. It can spread to other parts of the body. About 10 percent of invasive breast cancers are of this type.