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Women and Cancer
Cancer is the second leading killer
of American women (heart disease is the number one killer).
Since 1987, lung cancer has been the top cancer killer
among American women, with an estimated 65,700 deaths
in 2002. Over the past 10 years, the mortality rate
from lung cancer has declined in men but has continued
to rise in women. These alarming trends are under recognized
by women and are due almost exclusively to increased
rates of cigarette smoking in women.
It was estimated there will be 79,200 new cases of
lung cancer in women in 2002, accounting for 12% of
cancer diagnoses. Since 1987, more women have died each
year of lung cancer than breast cancer, which, for over
40 years, was the major cause of cancer death in women.
Source:
American Cancer Society, Cancer Facts and Figures 2002:
http://www.cancer.org/downloads/STT/CFF2002.pdf
Breast cancer is the second leading cancer killer (after
lung cancer) among women. However, although lung cancer
kills more women each year than breast cancer does,
there are more new cases of breast cancer every year
than lung cancer. The estimated lifetime probability
of getting breast cancer for women is now 1 in 8, compared
to the lifetime risk of getting lung cancer of 1 in
17.
The incidence of breast cancer has increased steadily
over the last 50 years, rising 25.3 percent between
1973 and 1992. An estimated 203,500 new invasive cases
of breast cancer are expected to occur among women in
the United States during 2002. It is estimated that
there will be 39,600 deaths of women attributed to breast
cancer in 2002.
Women who develop breast cancer when they are younger
than age 45 have a 5-year relative survival rate of
79%. This rate increases to 84% for women aged 45-64
and 87% for women ages 65 and over. The 5-year survival
rate for Hispanic women is lower than the rate for Caucasian
women in the same age categories.
The incidence of breast cancer rose steadily from 1940
to 1990, and then stabilized at approximately 110 cases
per 100,000 women. With the increased use of mammography
screening, breast cancers have increasingly been detected
earlier in their development, when they are more treatable.
This earlier detection, coupled with improved treatment
has led to a decline in breast cancer death rates. Between
1990 and 1994, breast cancer mortality decreased by
5.6 percent. This decline was more pronounced among
white women (-6.1%) than among African American women
(-1%).
Source:
American Cancer Society, Cancer Facts and Figures 2002:
http://www.cancer.org/downloads/STT/CFF2002.pdf
The incidence and death rates from breast cancer increase
with age. About 80 percent of breast cancers occur in
women age 50 or older. Seventy-seven percent of new
cases and 84% of breast cancer deaths reported between
1994-1998 occurred in women ages 50 and older. For all
races combined, for the period 1994-1998, women ages
20-24 had an age-specific incidence rate of only 1.5
cases per 100,000 population; women ages 75-79 had the
highest incidence rate, 489.7 cases per 100,000.
Source:
Breast Cancer Facts and Figures 2001-2002, American
Cancer Society, http://www.cancer.org/downloads/STT/BrCaFF2001.pdf)
After age 40, white women are more likely to be diagnosed
with breast cancer than black women. With the exception
of black women between the ages of 20-24, black women
under age 40 have a slightly higher incidence than white
women. Black women are more likely to die from breast
cancer than are white women. Incidence and death rates
from breast cancer are generally lower among women of
other racial and ethnic groups than in white and black
women.
Source:
Breast Cancer Facts and Figures 2001-2002, American
Cancer Society, http://www.cancer.org/downloads/STT/BrCaFF2001.pdf
The percentage of women age 40 and over who report
that they have not had a mammogram in the past two years
has been declining over the past decade. Data from the
Centers for Disease Control's nationwide Behavioral
Risk Factor Surveillance System for 2000 show that about
29 percent of women aged 40-49, about 19 percent of
women aged 50-64, and about 23 percent of women aged
65 and over said they had not had a mammogram within
the previous two years.
Source:
http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/brfss/page.asp?cat=WH&yr=2000&state=US#WH
Colorectal cancer is the third leading cause of cancer
deaths in American women. It is estimated there will
be 57,000 new cases of colon cancer and 18,400 new cases
of rectal cancer in women in 2002. Although many cases
are preventable with regular screening, regular exercise,
and a diet low in fat and high in fruits, vegetables,
and whole-grain foods, colorectal cancer is expected
to claim the lives of 28,800 women in 2002.
Cervical cancer: The estimated lifetime probability
of getting cervical cancer for women is now 1 in 117.
All women 18 and over should have an annual Pap test
and pelvic exam. With the advent of the Pap smear, the
early detection and prevention of cervical cancer has
improved dramatically. Both the incidence and death
rates from this disease have declined by 40 percent
since the early 1970s. It is estimated that 13,000 cases
of invasive cervical cancer will be diagnosed in the
year 2002.
Endometrial (uterine lining) cancer: It is estimated
that in 2002, 39,300 cases of cancer of the uterine
corpus (body of the uterus), usually of the endometrium
or lining of the uterus, will be diagnosed and an estimated
6,600 deaths will occur. Incidence rates for endometrial
cancer are higher among white women (22.9 per 100,000)
than among black women (15.7 per 100,000).
Ovarian cancer: This is the most deadly of all the
cancers of the female reproductive system. Symptoms
often appear only in the very advanced stages of the
disease. Risk for ovarian cancer rises with age and
peaks in the late 70s. The number of new cases of ovarian
cancer (incidence) has been gradually dropping each
year for the past 10 years. It is estimated that in
2002 there will be 23,300 new cases in the United States
and an estimated 13,900 deaths.
Skin Cancer: There are more than a million cases a
year of highly curable basal cell or squamous cell cancers
in men and women. They are more common among individuals
with lightly pigmented skin. Although overall, men are
more likely than women to develop skin cancer, women
under the age of 40 comprise the fastest growing group
of skin cancer patients. The prevalence of melanoma-the
most serious form of skin cancer-has doubled since 1973
from 6 cases per 100,000 people to 12 per 100,000. The
most serious form of skin cancer is melanoma, and it
is estimated that in 2002 that about 23,500 women will
be diagnosed with this form of skin cancer.
Source:
American Cancer Society, Cancer Facts and Figures 2002:
http://www.cancer.org/downloads/STT/CFF2002.pdf
American Cancer Society, Cancer Prevention & Early
Detection Facts & Figures, 2002:
http://www.cancer.org/downloads/STT/CPED2002.pdf
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