Breast Cancer Signs & Symptoms

The American Cancer Society estimates that 211,000 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed this year and 43,300 patients will die from the disease. Breast cancer is truly an epidemic among women and we don't know why.

Breast cancer is not exclusively a disease of women. For every 100 women with breast cancer, 1 male will develop the disease. The American Cancer society estimates that 1,600 men will develop the disease this year. The evaluation of men with breast masses is similar to that in women, including mammography.

The incidence of breast cancer is very low in the twenties (age) gradually increases and plateaus at the age of forty-five and increases dramatically after fifty. Fifty percent of breast cancer is diagnosed in women over sixty-five indicating the ongoing necessity of yearly screening throughout a woman's life.