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It is estimated that one in eight U.S. women Will develop breast cancer during her lifetime. With 178,700 cases expected, breast cancer will be the most frequently diagnosed non-skin malignancy in U.S. women in 1998. This year, 44,300 women will die of breast cancer nationwide


One in every 2,525 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer by age 30

One in every 217 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer by age 40

One in every 50 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer by age 50

One in every 24 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer by age 60

  • White women have the highest incidence rate for breast cancer in the U.S.
  • African American women have the highest mortality rate for breast cancer in the U.S.
  • Breast cancer incidence rates are increasing fastest among Hispanic women in the U.S.
  • Mortality rates may be higher among African American women because they may be diagnosed at a later stage when the disease is more difficult to treat
  • Only 54.9% of African American women over 50 report having had a mammogram within the previous two years

  • Lack of physician recommendation
  • Misconception that, without symptoms, there is no need to get screened
  • Lack of awareness about mammography
  • Cost and/or lack of health insurance
  • Lack of access to mammography facilities
  • Fear of cancer detection
  • Language
  • Cultural beliefs and values that are not consistent with preventive medical care

    Source: The National Cancer institute and The American Cancer Society

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    30 years ago it was suggested that organochlorines (The pesticide DDT, industrial chemicals known as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB's) ) could induce mamory tumors in lab animals leading people to believe that it could do the same in women. The Natl. Cancer Institute, American Cancer Society and other various research centers ignored the claim completely. Two decades ago they noted that human breast tumors contain higher levels of these toxic chemicals than regular cancer free breast tissue. This, of course, did not prove that toxins cause human breast cancer but it certainly needed more attention, but was left alone once again for another 15 years.
  • Don't drink heavily:
    Heavy drinking equals high risk. A number of studies over the last decade suggest that even moderate alcohol consumption places women at a 40-to-100 percent increased risk for breast cancer.
  • Make sure to breast-feed your baby:
    Breast-feeding has been shown to lower the risk of premenopausal breast cancer. There may be some migration of toxins from breast tissue to breast milk. But the benefits to your child, and you, totally outweigh the risks.
  • Eat your vegetables:
    Fruits and vegetables help protect you from cancer by contributing antioxidants to your body. Broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage are also thought to lower "bad estrogen" levels. Wash them carefully to decrease pesticide residues
  • Be very cautious about mammograms before you're 50 years old:
    Industries that profit from mammograms are pushing them for younger women, and they've duped some powerful women in Congress. But to date,there is no conclusive evidence that routine mammograms reduce the death rate for younger women. Denser tissue makes it difficult to spot tumors. False positives are a problem, leading to unnecessary biopsies, and women who rely on mammograms may neglect self-examination which is easier, less expensive, and quicker in the long-run. Some researchers believe the radiation from mammograms may actually increase a younger woman's risk, which... if you think about it, isn't that hard to believe. Nonetheless, if you feel a lump in your breast, don't hesitate to get one. My mother ignored hers when her doc said that she was under 50 and probably had nothing to worry about... 2 years later she had a lump the size of a doughnut hole... had to have the breast removed and chemo. If the doctor (AND my mother) would have looked into it more she could have saved the breast and her loss of hair from the chemo.
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    Until recently, the medical establishment recommended regular "baseline" or "screening" mammograms for women in their 40s. But increasingly researchers suspect that unless you are over 50 or have found a suspicious lump in your breast, screening mammograms are unnecessary and could possibly increase your breast cancer risk slightly.

    Here are four reasons for premenopausal women to think twice before getting a mammogram:

    Mammograms don't work very well for premenopausal women:
    Routine mammograms missed 40 percent of the breast cancers that developed among 25,000 women aged 40 to 49, according to a Canadian study released in 1992. In a similar Swedish study, 38 percent were missed. These high rates of false negatives occur because the dense, healthy breast tissue of younger women can resemble or obscure tumors.As a result, mammograms are notoriously inaccurate in women younger than 50, the average age of menopause.
    Screening mammograms don't improve your chances of survival:
    The aforementioned Canadian study followed 25,000 women who had routine screening mammograms and an equal number who did not. The findings: Women in both groups developed and died of breast cancer at the same rates. Seven other randomized studies have also reported no statistically significant reduction in the death rates of women who underwent routine screening mammography.
    Mammograms sometimes find tumors that aren't there:
    Radiologists are reluctant to rule out malignancy in the case of difficult-to-read areas. False positives occurred in 3 percent of the mammograms reviewed by the Swedish study. False positives usually lead to biopsies which, although relatively safe surgical procedures, are both emotionally and financially draining.
    Mammograms expose women to radiation that may cause breast cancer: Although modern mammography equipment uses far smaller dosages of radiation than did the machines built during the 1970s, no minimum dose of radiation has been proven safe with respect to breast cancer. "Every dose, no matter how low, confers some risk," says Dr. John Gofman, a nuclear scientist whose work dates back to the Manhattan Project. The risk is believed to be small--Gofman estimates that for a 40-year-old woman, a typical mammogram translates into no more than a 1-in-2,700 chance of developing breast cancer. But this risk is cumulative, increasing with each subsequent mammogram.

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