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Breast Health Information

We believe that education is a key to dealing with breast cancer. Early detection is one of very few weapons we have against this disease. We urge all women and their loved ones to learn about this disease and to learn about their bodies, and to practice the  Recommendations for Breast Health.


If you're interested in a Breast Health/Breast Cancer educational presentation to your organization or company, please call the Komen Tri-Cities Affiliate at 423-354-0111 or send us an email.

If you would like to learn more about the current needs, gaps and solutions, please call our office for a copy of our Community Profile & Needs Assessment.

Breast Cancer Statistics

Sources: US Breast Cancer Fact Sheet and Cancer Facts and Figures 2008, American Cancer Society

  • An estimated 182,460 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to occur among women in the United States during 2008.
  • Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer among women.
  • The most proven and significant risk factors for getting breast cancer are being female and getting older.
  • An estimated 40,480 women will die from breast cancer in 2008.
  • Breast cancer is the second only to lung cancer in cancer deaths.
  • An estimated 1,990 new cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed in men in 2008.
  • An estimated 450 men will die from breast cancer in 2008.
  • African Americans have the highest death rate from breast cancer of any racial/ethnic group in the U.S.
  • The most proven and significant risk factors for getting breast cancer are being female and getting older.
  • Approximately 5 to 10 percent of breast cancers are due to heredity.  The majority of women with breast cancer  have no known significant family history or other known risk factors.
  • A woman's chance of developing breast cancer increases with age.  Approximately 95 percent of all breast cancers occur in women 40 years of age and older.
  • One woman is diagnosed with breast cancer every three minutes, and one woman will die of breast cancer every 13 minutes in the U.S.
  • The chance of a woman dying of breast cancer is about 1 in 33 (3 percent).
  • In the United States today, there are nearly 2.5 million breast cancer survivors -the largest group of cancer survivors in the country.
  • The five-year survival rate for breast cancer,when caught early before it spreads beyond the breast, is  now 98 percent (compared to 74 percent in 1982).

For more breast cancer statistics, information and help, please go to www.komen.org or call the Komen for the Cure's National Toll-Free Breast Care Help Line: 1-877 GO KOMEN (1-877-465-6636)