{"id":1151,"date":"2026-10-01T11:40:40","date_gmt":"2026-10-01T11:40:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kcfj570am.com\/?p=1151"},"modified":"2026-10-01T11:40:40","modified_gmt":"2026-10-01T11:40:40","slug":"breast-cancer-by-the-numbers-what-to-know-about-diagnoses-survival-rates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kcfj570am.com\/?p=1151","title":{"rendered":"Breast cancer by the numbers: What to know about diagnoses, survival rates"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
Breast Cancer Awareness Month (ABC News)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Oct. 1 marks the beginning of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, putting a spotlight on the second most common cancer diagnosed among women.<\/p>\n

Although the rates of women diagnosed with breast cancer have increased, death rates have been declining and five-year survival rates have risen.<\/p>\n

It’s not just women; men are also diagnosed with the disease. Additionally, disparities\u00a0persist among races and ethnicities.<\/p>\n

Here’s what you need to know about breast cancer by the numbers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Diagnosis rates<\/strong><\/p>\n

Breast cancer\u00a0is the most\u00a0frequently\u00a0diagnosed cancer among women in the United States,\u00a0aside from skin cancer,\u00a0with\u00a0more than\u00a0320,000 new invasive cases<\/a>\u00a0expected each year,\u00a0according to\u00a0the American\u00a0Cancer Society (ACS).\u00a0<\/p>\n

Breast cancer diagnoses\u00a0have\u00a0risen\u00a0with a\u00a01% increase<\/a> per year in recent years,\u00a0ACS says.<\/p>\n

“Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in women, but most women diagnosed with breast cancer do very well and outcomes have improved tremendously over the years,”\u00a0Hannah Rose Naughton, breast surgical oncologist at Hackensack Meridian Health, told ABC News.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Breast cancer accounts for\u00a0roughly\u00a0one in every\u00a0three new cancers diagnosed in women each year and is the second leading cause of cancer death among women in the U.S., behind\u00a0lung\u00a0cancer, according to the\u00a0ACS<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“The earlier we find the cancer, the better the outcome for the patient,” Naughton said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While\u00a0breast cancer affects\u00a0women\u00a0far more often,\u00a0the disease can also occur in men.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“One percent of breast cancer cases occur in men; it’s\u00a0extremely rare,” Priya Thomas, breast oncologist at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, told ABC News.<\/p>\n

Declining death rates<\/strong><\/p>\n

The breast cancer death rate among U.S. women\u00a0decreased by 44% from 1989 to 2024, preventing an estimated 500,000 to 517,900 deaths,\u00a0according\u00a0to\u00a0ACS.<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

“The decrease in breast cancer death rates is probably a combination of our screening advances, as well as advances in the treatments that we have for different subtypes of breast cancer,” Thomas said. “Artificial intelligence is also being investigated and possibly can also increase sensitivity and detection.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

Improving survival rates<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the late 1970s, the five-year relative survival rate for women with invasive breast cancer — which compares how many patients are alive five years after diagnosis with people of the\u00a0same age who\u00a0don’t\u00a0have cancer — was roughly 75%.<\/p>\n

As of 2022,\u00a0it\u00a0is\u00a0above 90%,<\/a>\u00a0according to the National Cancer Institute\u00a0(NCI).\u00a0The increase reflects major advances in screening\u00a0and\u00a0earlier\u00a0diagnosis.<\/p>\n

Where breast cancers are found<\/strong><\/p>\n

Stage at diagnosis\u00a0remains\u00a0one of the biggest predictors of outcome.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Most breast cancers are discovered before they have spread to\u00a0other parts of the body,\u00a0according to the\u00a0NCI<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

About\u00a064%\u00a0of cases are diagnosed at a localized stage, meaning the cancer has not spread beyond the breast.\u00a0About\u00a027%\u00a0have\u00a0spread to nearby\u00a0lymph nodes\u00a0or tissue, and about\u00a06% are diagnosed after the cancer has spread to distant parts of the body. About\u00a02%\u00a0have an unknown stage.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“If you feel a lump, if you notice a skin change, if you notice nipple discharge or any change that is different from your normal baseline, that warrants an evaluation by your provider,” Thomas\u00a0said.<\/p>\n

Persisting disparities<\/strong><\/p>\n

The burden of breast cancer is not shared equally.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Black women are more likely to develop triple-negative breast cancer, which can be a more aggressive subtype, and unfortunately they do have a higher breast cancer mortality rate,” Naughton\u00a0said.<\/p>\n

As with many other diseases,\u00a0\u00a0the\u00a0risk of breast cancer increases with age. The average age at breast cancer diagnosis in women is 63,\u00a0according to the NCI.<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

In\u00a0men, the\u00a0ACS reports\u00a0the average age at diagnosis is between\u00a060 and 70<\/a>.\u00a0Although for both\u00a0women and men, the disease can occur at\u00a0virtually any\u00a0age, and diagnosis\u00a0at a younger age\u00a0is linked to increased mortality.<\/p>\n

“I know that recently some of the guidelines, depending on where you’re looking, have changed and may recommend mammograms every one to two years, but I still recommend yearly mammograms starting at age 40 for women at average risk,” \u00a0Naughton said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Beyond regular screening, experts say being aware of changes in your body is important.<\/p>\n

“The most important message is that you shouldn’t ignore a change in your breast,” Naughton said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dr. Tara Howard is a fourth-year dermatology resident and a member of the\u00a0ABC News Medical Unit.<\/em><\/p>\n

Copyright \u00a9 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Breast Cancer Awareness Month (ABC News) Oct. 1 marks the beginning of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, putting a spotlight on the second most common cancer diagnosed among women. Although the rates of women diagnosed with breast cancer have increased, death rates have been declining and five-year survival rates have risen. It’s not just women; men […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1151","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kcfj570am.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1151","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kcfj570am.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kcfj570am.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kcfj570am.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kcfj570am.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1151"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.kcfj570am.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1151\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kcfj570am.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1151"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kcfj570am.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1151"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kcfj570am.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1151"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}