Did you know?? Breast cancer facts.

Let's start out with some basic information from the Susan G Koman website :

• What are the estimated numbers of new breast cancer cases and deaths for the year 2007?An estimated 178,480 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to occur among women in the United States during 2007. An estimated 40,460 women will die from breast cancer. It is estimated that 2,030 men will be diagnosed and 450 men will die of breast cancer during 2007. In addition to invasive breast cancer, 62,030 new cases of in situ breast cancer are expected to occur among women in 2007. Of these, approximately 85 percent will be ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS).
  Source: American Cancer Society Cancer Facts & Figures 2007.

• What are the signs of breast cancer? The signs of breast cancer are not the same for all women. In fact, some women have no signs that they can see. If you experience any of these symptoms, you should see a doctor right away:
  A lump, hard knot or thickening
  Swelling, warmth, redness or darkening
  Change in breast size or shape
  Dimpling or puckering of the skin
  Itchy, scaly sore or rash on the nipple
  Pulling in of your nipple or other parts of the breast
  Nipple discharge that starts suddenly
  New pain in one spot

• Men can get breast cancer too. Male breast cancer is rare. In 2003, the overall incidence of breast cancer in men was 1.5 per 100,000, compared to 124 per 100,000 in women. Differences in mortality were equally wide: 0.3 per 100,000 in men; 25 per 100,000 in women [22]. For more breast cancer statisticsAs with women, invasive ductal carcinoma accounts for most of the breast cancers seen in men, with ductal carcinoma in situ and invasive lobular carcinoma accounting for only a small proportion of cases [26].
  The strongest risk factor for breast cancer among men is Klinefelter’s syndrome, a condition associated with high levels of estrogen [26,27]. This rare condition occurs when men are born with two X chromosomes (XXY instead of XY) [27]. Although men with Klinefelter’s syndrome may have gynecomastia (enlargement of the breast tissue), gynecomastia not associated with Klinefelter’s syndrome does not appear to be related to breast cancer among men [27,28]. Similar to female breast cancer, male breast cancer risk is increased in men with a mutation in the BRCA2 gene [27]. Chronic alcoholism, chronic liver disease and obesity may also increase the risk of male breast cancer [26,27]. For more on cancer in general, click here. For more information on male breast cancer, see the Treatment section.