Breast cancer is a malignant (cancer) tumor that starts from
cells of the breast. It is found mostly in women, but men can
get breast cancer, too. About one-percent of all breast cancer
diagnosed is diagnosed in men. Excluding cancer of the skin,
breast cancer is the most common cancer among women. Breast
cancer accounts for one-third of all cancers diagnosed in
Missouri, and is the leading cause of cancer deaths in women
after lung cancer. Nearly all breast cancers can be treated
successfully if detected early. When detected in the earliest
stages, the cure rate is 97 percent. A number of risk factors
have been identified, but most women do not have any known risk
factors at the time of their diagnosis. The biggest risk of a
breast cancer diagnosis is being a woman and getting older.
Breast cancer diagnosis and breast cancer deaths increase age.
Ninety-five percent of new cases and 97 percent of breast cancer
deaths occur in women aged 40 and older. At this time, there is
no guaranteed way to prevent breast