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PLASTIC SURGERY NEWS, SURGERY NEWS, COSMETIC SURGERY NEWS Current NEWS  |
BREAST CANCER BY THE NUMBERS
While there has been an increase in the incidence of breast cancer, there's been a decrease in mortality, said Dr. Diana Dickson-Whitmer, who treats breast cancer patients at Christiana Hospital. "That's probably the result of earlier detection, more women having mammographies from 40 on, and mammography becoming better able to detect cancer in the preinvasive stages," she said.
BY THE NUMBERS
213,000
Women in the United States who will be diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005
40,000+
American women who will die from the disease this year
2 million+
Women in the United States who have been treated for breast cancer
About 1 in 7
Women who will have breast cancer at some point in their life
About 1 in 33
Women who will die from breast cancer
3,800
Delawareans who have the disease
120
Delawareans who probably will die from it this year
700
New cases diagnosed last year in Delaware
130
Delawareans who died from breast cancer last year
POSSIBLE WARNING SIGNS
• A change in how the breast or nipple feels
• A lump or thickening in or near the breast or in the underarm area
• Nipple tenderness
• A change in how the breast or nipple looks
• A change in the size or shape of the breast
• A nipple that has turned inward to the breast
• Breast, areola or nipple areas that are scaly, red or swollen. The site may have ridges or pitting, appearing like the skin of an orange.
• Nipple discharge (fluid)
AT-RISK GROUPS
Although the causes of breast cancer are unknown, some women are more likely to develop it than others.
• Age: The chance of getting breast cancer goes up as a woman gets older. A woman older than 60 is at greatest risk. The disease is uncommon before menopause.
• Personal history: A woman who has had breast cancer in one breast has an increased risk of getting the disease in her other breast.
• Family history: A woman's risk of breast cancer is higher if her mother, sister or daughter had breast cancer, especially before age 40. Having relatives with breast cancer on either the mother's or father's side of the family may also increase risk.
• Genetic alterations: Changes in certain genes (BRCA1, BRCA2, and others) increase the risk of breast cancer. In families in which many women have had the disease, genetic testing can sometimes show the presence of specific genetic changes.
Source: National Cancer Institute, www.cancer.gov; Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania,
