October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, an annual campaign to raise awareness about the impact of breast cancer.
Far too many Americans face the overwhelming shock of a breast cancer diagnosis. They are flooded with new information, worried about loved ones, and at times unable to afford treatment — all the while staring down life’s toughest questions. During National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we rededicate ourselves to supporting patients and their families, boosting access to care, and raising awareness about the life-saving importance of early screening. We honor all those we have lost to this terrible disease and celebrate the courageous survivors and advocates fighting to beat it, along with the loved ones and medical providers who have their backs every day.
Cancer changes everyone and every family it touches, including ours — and breast cancer is the second most common form of the disease among women in the United States. One in eight women will be diagnosed in their lifetimes, As so many families know too well, cancer can rip lives apart forever. Beating it is one of the biggest things we can do — as individuals andtogetherasaNation. In2022, an estimated 287,500 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in women in the U.S. as well as 51,400 new cases of noninvasive (in situ) breast cancer.
65% of breast cancer cases are diagnosed at a localized stage (there is no sign that the cancer has spread outside of the breast), for which the 5-year relative survival rate is 99%.
Although rare, men get breast cancer too. In 2022, an estimated 2,710 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer in the U.S. and approximately 530 men will die from breast cancer. Breast cancer is one of the most common kinds of cancer in women. About 1 in 8 women born today in the United States will get breast cancer at some point. Cancer is a broad term for a class of diseases characterized by abnormal cells that grow and invade healthy cells in the body. Breast cancer starts in the cells of the breast as a group of cancer cells that can then invade surrounding tissues or spread (metastasize) to other areas of the body.