Breast Cancer Deaths Decline

Nearly 90% of all breast cancers in the U.S. are now caught in the early, most treatable stages, but the outlook isn’t necessarily better for all women.

A new report from the American Cancer Society shows that despite widespread progress in early detection and treatment of breast cancer, African American women are still more likely to die of breast cancer than white women. Good News and Bad News Researchers say that overall the news is good. More than 90% of breast cancers are now diagnosed at a localized stage, and the five-year survival rates for these cancers have risen to 97%. But the bad news is that although African American women and white women had similar numbers of deaths due to breast cancer in the 1980s, breast cancer death rates among African American women are now 30% higher than those among white women. “The reasons for this disparity are not fully understood,” says Michael J. Thun, MD, vice president of the American Cancer Society, in a news release. “However, we do know that the widening disparity in death rates in large part reflects socio-economic factors. That is to say, more affluent women have greater access to high-quality early detection, particularly mammography, and appropriate treatment,” says Thun. “Their breast cancers, therefore, are diagnosed at an earlier stage and treated more aggressively.” Breast Cancer’s Still Deadly The Breast Cancer Facts & Figures 2003-2004, released today by the American Cancer Society, also shows that breast cancer continues to be the most frequently diagnosed cancer among American women, with more than 250,000 cases expected in 2003, and accounts for two out of three cancers diagnosed in U.S. women. Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death among women in the U.S., with 39,800 deaths expected in 2003 and an additional 1,300 cases and 400 deaths anticipated among American men. ——————————————————————————–(Source: Breast Cancer Facts & Figures 2003-2004, American Cancer Society. News release, American Cancer Society: October 2003: WebMD Health)