Breast Cancer Statistics

Numbers are like fire. They are useful tools if you keep them under control. If you let them take over, they can become destructive.

Statistics are averages. Estimates based on looking at many cases.

People can be looked at in terms of an average. The average IQ is 100, the average American man's height is 5' 10". These averages don't mean that many people will not have a 150 IQ or be 5' 7" tall.

One person's life or outlook cannot be predicted by statistics. They are like odds for gamblers giving you an idea of the chances of winning. These statistics are not foolproof. Statistics are not tea leaves or a crystal ball. They are not accurate at predicting one individual's response to breast cancer.

Use these statistics to make a realistic appraisal of your disease, but never allow statistics to convince you that you shouldn't work for your own survival.

Cancer - Breast Cancer Statistics - From the US Centers for Disease Control offering information on breast cancer risks by age, ethnicity, location, lifestyle and other criteria with related charts, glossary, resources.

SEER State Facts Sheets - Cancer of the Breast - Good overview of mortality rates by ethnicity, survival rates by stage, lifetime risk.

Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium Statistics - Easy to follow graphs, tables and pie charts with mammography data and diagnoses stats dating from 1996 to the present.

Breast Cancer: Statistics on Incidence, Survival, and Screening - Imaginis guide to common rates of occurrence per year in the US and worldwide, incidence by age or ethnic group, with more on survival rates by stage, US mammography statistics.

Atlas of Cancer Mortality - The 200 + maps in the atlas will make it easy for researchers and state health departments to identify places in the US where high or low rates occur.

Breast Cancer Statistics - The lastest facts and stats from the Susan G. Komen Foundation.