Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer amongst women in Australia. Approximately 57 Australians are diagnosed each and every day. That equates to over 20,000 Australians diagnosed with breast cancer each year. 1 in 7 women are diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime.
Breast Cancer Risk in Australia and New Zealand
A woman's lifetime risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer in Australia is 1 in 7. For men it is 1 in 726. However, there are a number of 'risk factors' that can increaseor decrease this liklihood.
Lifetime chance of getting breast cancer
Overall, the average risk of a woman in the United States developing breast cancer sometime in her life is about 13%.
Breast cancer is the most common cancer affecting Australian women. Australia has one of the best breast cancer survival rates in the world. The incidence rate of women and men being diagnosed with breast cancer in Australia is increasing; however the mortality rate from breast cancer is decreasing.
Symptoms of stage 1 breast cancer include skin irritation or dimpling, swelling/redness/scaling/flaking/thickening of the nipple or breast skin, change in the size or the shape of the breast, nipple turning inward, change in the appearance of a nipple, nipple discharge that is not breast milk, breast pain, nipple pain, ...
A woman's risk for breast cancer is higher if she has a mother, sister, or daughter (first-degree relative) or multiple family members on either her mother's or father's side of the family who have had breast or ovarian cancer. Having a first-degree male relative with breast cancer also raises a woman's risk.
All cancers begin as asymptomatic, and all tumors start so small they are undetectable. You can have breast cancer without knowing it for several years, depending on how quickly it starts, grows, and spreads.
Overall survival rates
This would mean 90% of women diagnosed with stage I breast cancer survive at least 5 years beyond diagnosis. (Most of these women would live much longer than 5 years past their diagnoses.) Overall survival rates vary by breast cancer stage.
Certain factors increase the risk of breast cancer including increasing age, obesity, harmful use of alcohol, family history of breast cancer, history of radiation exposure, reproductive history (such as age that menstrual periods began and age at first pregnancy), tobacco use and postmenopausal hormone therapy.
About 66% of women with breast cancer are diagnosed at this stage. Adolescent and young adult females ages 15 to 39 in the United States are less likely to be diagnosed at an early stage of breast cancer (47% of cases in this age group) compared to women older than 65 (68% of cases in this age group).
Studies show that even though breast cancer happens more often now than it did in the past, it doesn't grow any faster than it did decades ago. On average, breast cancers double in size every 180 days, or about every 6 months.
The average age at diagnosis is 62 years old. Breast cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer in Australia, and it is estimated that one in 8 females and one in 668 males will be diagnosed by the time they are 85.
Being female, increasing age and family history are the main risk factors for breast cancer.
Similar to stage 0, breast cancer at this stage is very treatable and survivable. When breast cancer is detected early, and is in the localized stage (there is no sign that the cancer has spread outside of the breast), the 5-year relative survival rate is 99%.
Redness, rash or blotchiness of the breast. Some women report that it looks like a bug bite. Pain and/or soreness of the breast. Lump, thickening or dimpling of the skin of the breast.
Breast cancer can have different symptoms for different people. Most don't notice any signs at all. The most common symptom is a lump in your breast or armpit. Others include skin changes, pain, a nipple that pulls inward, and unusual discharge from your nipple.
Women in the U.S. have a 1 in 8 (or about 13%) lifetime risk of getting breast cancer [5]. This means for every 8 women in the U.S., 1 will be diagnosed with breast cancer during her lifetime.
Age at diagnosis
From 2016-2020 (most recent data available), the median age of diagnosis of breast cancer for women in the U.S. was 63 [7]. The median is the middle value of a group of numbers, so about half of women with breast cancer are diagnosed before age 63 and about half are diagnosed after age 63.
The most common symptom of breast cancer is a new lump or mass (although most breast lumps are not cancer). A painless, hard mass that has irregular edges is more likely to be cancer, but breast cancers can be also soft, round, tender, or even painful.
Some general symptoms that breast cancer may have spread include: Feeling constantly tired. Constant nausea (feeling sick) Unexplained weight loss and loss of appetite.
Breast cancer occurs more frequently in the left breast than the right. The left breast is 5%-10% more likely to develop cancer than the right breast. No one knows why.