October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Throughout the U.S., people dress in pink to show their support for victims of breast cancer and to bring awareness. Here are ten important facts about breast cancer:

1. Breast cancer is the second most common form of cancer in females in the United States. In fact, about 1 in 8 women born today in the United States will get breast cancer at some point.
2. It’s estimated that in 2018, there will have been an estimated 266,120 new cases of invasive breast cancer (the type of cancer that spreads outside the milk duct and into the normal tissue inside the breast), along with 63,960 new cases of non-invasive (in-situ) cancer.
3. Men are prone to breast cancer as well, although the risk of a man developing breast cancer is about 1 in 1,000. About 2,550 new cases of breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed in men in 2018.
4. About 85% of breast cancers occur in women who do not have a family history of cancer. These occur due to genetic mutations that happen as part of the aging process and lifestyle choices in general.
5. Only about 5-10% of breast cancers can be linked to genetic mutations inherited from either one’s mother or father. The most common mutations are BRCA1 and BRCA2.
6. On average, women with a BRCA1 mutation have a 55-65% lifetime risk of developing breast cancer. For women with a BRCA2 mutation, the risk is 45%.
7. In men, BRCA2 mutations are associated with a lifetime breast cancer risk of about 6.8%; BRCA1 mutations are a less frequent cause of breast cancer in men.
8. For women in the United States, breast cancer deaths are higher than those for any other cancer. In fact, about 40,920 women are estimated to die in 2018 from breast cancer.
9. A woman’s risk of breast cancer nearly doubles if she has a relative (specifically mother or sister) who has been diagnosed with breast cancer.
10. Breast cancer incidence rates in the U.S. began decreasing in the year 2000, after increasing for the previous two decades. They dropped by 7% from 2002 to 2003 alone.

Sources: www.breastcancer.org

  www.healthfinder.gov

  www.cancer.org

  www.cdc.gov