Only by knowing the statistics of breast cancer will we be able to better arm ourselves against it. The numbers make the case for regular self-checkups and early detection. They also illustrate the need for more research into the disease, and detection and diagnosis support for underprivileged women. If we can spread the word, we have a fighting chance at knocking down the most commonly diagnosed form of cancer and second-leading cause of cancer death in women in the U.S.

  • 1 in 8the number of women who will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime
  • 1 in 1,000: the chances of a man being diagnosed with breast cancer
  • 231,840: the number of new cases of breast cancer that will be diagnosed in women in 2015
  • every 2 minutes: the frequency of each new diagnosis of breast cancer in the U.S.
  • 2,350the number of new cases of breast cancer that will be diagnosed in men this year
  • 1.7 million: the number of new cases of breast cancer diagnosed annually worldwide
  • 29%: the percentage of newly diagnosed cancers in women in the U.S. that are breast cancer
  • 79%: the percentage of newly diagnosed breast cancers in the U.S. that are in women over the age of 50
  • 85%: the percentage of women diagnosed with breast cancer who have no family history of the disease
  • 5–10%: the percentage of incidences of breast cancer that are caused by genetic mutation
  • double: the increase in risk if a woman has a relative with a breast cancer diagnosis
  • 38 million: the number of mammograms performed in the U.S. each year
  • $8 billion: the financial cost of those mammograms
  • 22%the survival rate of Stage IV breast cancer
  • 100%: the survival rate of Stage I breast cancer
  • 40,290: estimated number of women who will die of breast cancer in the U.S. in 2015
  • 1 in 36: the chance of breast cancer being a woman’s cause of death in the U.S.
  • 410: estimated number of men who will die of breast cancer in the U.S. in 2014
  • 88%: the percentage of breast cancer deaths in the U.S. each year that are in women over 50 years old
  • 34%the decrease in breast cancer deaths since 1990
  • 89%: the chance of surviving breast cancer after five years
  • 2.8 million: the number of breast cancer survivors in the U.S.
  • 6.3 million: the number of breast cancer survivors in the world

Note: some statistics use 2014 data.

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