About Breast Cancer
Statistics
It is estimated that one in eleven Australian and one in eleven Queensland women will develop breast cancer at some stage in their lifetime. In Australia the five year survival rate for women diagnosed with breast cancer is 87.8 per cent, that is, a woman diagnosed with breast cancer has a 87.8 per cent chance of survival for the next five years (AIHW, 2008).
Breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in Australian and Queensland women and the second most common cause of death among Queensland women (Queensland Cancer Registry, 2008). There are over 12,000 new cases detected each year in Australia and about 2,700 women die from breast cancer each year in Australia (AIHW, 2008). In Queensland, 2,404 women were diagnosed with breast cancer and 474 women died from breast cancer during 2005 (Queensland Cancer Registry, 2008).
Mortality from breast cancer among females increased slowly by 0.6 per cent per year between 1982 and 1993, but since then the trend in mortality has been reversed and it is now decreasing by 2.4 per cent per year. This corresponds to an overall decrease in the mortality rate for the eleven years from 1993 to 2004 of 22.8 per cent (Queensland Health Information Circular 77, 2007).
This trend is very encouraging and can be attributed to breast cancer screening along with improvements in management and treatment and advances in drug therapy.
In 2007/08 financial year, 210,860 women in Queensland were screened for breast cancer within the BreastScreen Queensland Program, with a participation rate during the biennial period 2006-2007 of 56.4 per cent among women aged 50 to 69 years. Many experts hold the view that mammographic screening has made a substantial contribution to the decline in breast cancer mortality (Baade & Coory, 2002).
In 2005, the major causes of cancer-related death in Australian men were lung, prostate and bowel compared to breast, lung and bowel for Australian women (AIHW, 2008). The lifetime risk for Australian men in developing breast cancer before the age of 75 years is one in 1,339 compared to a lifetime risk of one in 11 for Australian women (before age 75) (AIHW, 2008). Breast cancer is rare in men and it is important that men have regular health checks with their doctor and if they are concerned at all about any breast changes, seek medical advice promptly (AIHW, 2006).
More information about cancer incidence and mortality in Queensland can be found on the Health Information Centre website.
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