The recent good news in breast cancer is that the death rate in the United States is falling by about 2 percent a year – about the same as over the past 17 years – according to Breast Cancer Facts & Figures 2007-2008, which is a report on breast cancer statistics and trends produced every two years by the American Cancer Society.
That’s an impressive winning streak for an important indicator of success in the fight against cancer. According to the report, the breast cancer death rate is falling in large part due to advances in early detection and treatment.
Unfortunately the data shows, however, these advances have benefited women of some races more than others. For instance, the cancer death rate for white and Hispanic women fell by 2.4 percent between 1995 and 2004, but only by 1.6 percent for African-American women. And during the same time period, no change was seen in cancer death rates for Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, American Indians or natives of Alaska.
On the whole, however, the most recent report on breast cancer death rates shows the continuation of a welcome trend – a steady decrease each year in the rate of breast cancer deaths.
“Thanks to better methods of detecting and treating breast cancer, American women today are less likely to die of breast cancer than they have been in decades,” said Harmon J. Eyre, M.D., chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society.
“Taken together, this (recent) report highlights the remarkable gains we’ve made in the fight against breast cancer,” added John R. Seffrin, Ph.D., chief executive officer of the American Cancer Society.
“But it also puts into focus the challenge before us – to close the gap so all Americans can reap the benefits equally, and to ensure that no American woman faces an increased risk of dying from breast cancer because of her race or ethnicity or because of lack of access to quality care.”
Even though the overall news is good, still an estimated 178,480 new cases of invasive breast cancer in women will be diagnosed this year and approximately 40,460 women will die from breast cancer. Also, breast cancer still accounts for more than 1 in 4 cases of cancer for women in the United States. Only lung cancer kills more women every year.
Risk factors for developing breast cancer, according to the American Cancer Society, include obesity, drinking alcohol and lack of exercise.
Being overweight increases a woman’s risk of postmenopausal breast cancer, as does weight gain any time during adulthood. Women who drink just two alcoholic beverages a day face a 21 percent increase in their risk for breast cancer.
Women can lower their risk of breast cancer by exercising vigorously for 45 to 60 minutes five or more days per week. Postmenopausal women can lower their risk, according to one study, with any level of physical activity that is performed on a regular basis.
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