Download the 2008 Breast Cancer Conference Program

Breast Cancer Facts

• Breast cancer is the most common non-skin cancer among women.
• In Vermont, breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in women. Each year, in Vermont, approximately 482 breast cancer cases are diagnosed in women.
• While an estimated 40,460 women and 450 men will die from breast cancer in 2007, death rates from breast cancer have steadily declined over the past decade.
• Nearly 90% of women diagnosed with breast cancer will survive their disease at least 5 years.
• A woman's chance of developing breast cancer increases with age. In the United States, a woman has about a 13.2 percent, or 1 in 8, lifetime risk of developing breast cancer.
• Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death among Vermont women. Each year in Vermont, approximately 96 women die from breast cancer.
• From 2000-2004, the median age at diagnosis for cancer of the breast was 61 years of age.
• Breast cancer incidence rates for women in Addison and Chittenden Counties are significantly higher than the U.S.
• Your best chance for surviving breast cancer is detecting it early. When found early, there is a 96% chance for cure.
• 95% of new cases and 98% of breast cancer deaths reported during 1996-2002 occurred in women ages 40 and older.
• Women in their 40s and older should have mammograms every 1 to 2 years. Women who are younger than 40 and have risk factors for breast cancer should ask their health care provider whether to have mammograms and how often to have them.
• For the first time in 20 years, there is a significant decline in the number of U.S. women over the age of 40 who get a regular mammogram to screen for breast cancer. According to a study by the National Cancer Institute and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the overall rate at which women are having mammograms fell four percent between 2000 and 2005.
• Breast-conserving surgery (lumpectomy) followed by local radiation therapy has replaced mastectomy as the preferred surgical approach for treating women with early stage breast cancer.
• In Vermont, 65% of breast cancers are diagnosed at the localized (early) stage.
• Approximately 5 to 10% of breast cancers are due to heredity. The majority of women with breast cancer have no known significant family history or other known risk factors.