Statistics
Breast Cancer Facts
- Every 12 minutes, a woman in America dies of breast cancer.
- Breast cancer is the leading cause of death for women ages 40 - 55.
- Breast cancer incidences and mortality rates vary among racial and ethnic groups. African-American women have a slightly lower risk of developing breast cancer but they have an increased risk of dying from breast cancer.
- Approximately 211,300 new cases of breast cancer are diagnosed annually.
- Greater Cincinnati and surrounding communities have a population of approximately 350,000 women over the age of 35. Statistically, one in seven of these women will develop breast cancer.
- The probability of developing breast cancer increases with age.
- When breast cancer is found early, the five-year survival rate is 98 percent.
- More than two million breast cancer survivors are alive in America today.
For more information about breast cancer, visit our breast cancer home page.
Mammogram Facts
- Mammography is an X-ray technique that visualizes internal structures of the breast.
- Mammography can detect breast cancer up to two years before it can be felt.
- The mammography procedure takes less than 15 minutes to complete.
- While it is a very simple procedure, mammography can increase the diagnosis rate of breast cancer and in turn the cure rate by 90 percent or more.
- Statistically, approximately 12 - 15 percent of screening mammograms will show abnormalities that require follow-up care. This could be a physician consultation, follow-up mammogram or biopsy.
- An annual breast examination by a physician and regular self-examinations should accompany routine mammography to provide a complete screening program and the most timely diagnosis.
