It Looks Just Like You :: Learn The Facts

•African-American women under 45 are the highest at-risk group for developing the disease.

• An estimated 40,970 deaths are anticipated from breast cancer in 2006, alone.

• Breast cancer is the most common cancer among African American women. An estimated 19,240 new cases of breast cancer are expected to occur among African American women, and 5,640 were estimated to die from the disease, in 2005 alone.

• Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in women aged 15 – 54

•Disproportionate numbers of black women are dying from breast cancer despite lower rate of incidence of the disease than white woman. Even after adjusting for socioeconomic differences, African American women are nearly 20 percent more likely to die of breast cancer.

• African American women are more likely to be diagnosed with larger tumors and more advanced stages of breast cancer despite a lower incidence rate.

• During the early 1980s, breast cancer death rates for white and African American women were approximately equal but by 2000, African American women had a 32% higher death rate than white women.

•Early detection and treatment betters the chances of survival.

Sources:
ACS, Cancer Facts and Figures 2006
ACS, Cancer Facts and Figures for African Americans, 2005 – 2006
Journal of Clinical Oncology, 2006
National Cancer Institute, 2003

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