Breast cancer facts and figures

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in Iowa women and accounts for 25 percent of all new cancers diagnosed in Iowa women every year.

Breast cancer facts

According to the 2017 Cancer in Iowa Report, an estimated 2,300 Iowa women will be diagnosed with breast cancer, and 370 women will lose their lives from the disease.¹

Figures that show the pervasive way breast cancer affects so many lives around the country.

• One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime.³
• Every two minutes, a woman in the United States is diagnosed with breast cancer.³
• There are more than 3.5 million breast cancer survivors in the United States.^{2, 3}
• Breast cancer can occur in both men and women, but it is rare in men.²
• Inherited mutations, such as BRCA1 and BRCA2, account for 5 to 10 percent of all female breast cancers and 5 to 20 percent of all male breast cancers.²
• Improvements in early detection and treatment have contributed to a 39 percent decline in breast cancer deaths in the United States between 1989-2015.³
• Mammograms are the most common screening test for breast cancer.⁴
• Women who have screening mammograms have a lower chance of dying from breast cancer than women who do not have screening mammograms.⁴

1. 2017 Cancer in Iowa Report
2. American Cancer Society Breast Cancer Facts & Figures 2017-2018
3. Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Fact Sheet
4. NCI Breast Cancer Screening PDQ – Patient Version