Breast cancer seems to be on the rise in the United States and will now affect one in every eight women --- up from the 1960s when only one out of every twenty women developed the disease. No one understands why the incidence of breast cancer is increasing, but it is doing the same in some foreign countries.

In one year’s time, over 200,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and over 40,000 women will die from it. Breast cancer is the second leading cancer that affects women, trailing only cancers of the skin. And, it is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in women, following lung cancer.

The breast cancer information below covers facts each woman should know. It may be especially helpful to a woman who is high risk or is a recently diagnosed breast cancer patient. After a woman’s initial diagnosis, further tests are necessary to establish her precise stage of breast cancer. This is then used by her doctors to plan her course of treatment. There are also several factors which may influence a woman’s potential for cancer survival and is important breast cancer information of which you should be aware.

It is important to note that each breast cancer patient needs to secure all of this scientific information in order to make wise decisions about her treatment plan. The correct treatment at the start can affect whether the woman has a recurrence of breast cancer later on, after her first treatment is completed. You want to do all you can to prevent the disease from spreading to another part of the body (called a metastasis).

Another section with breast cancer information follows which presents the recommended guidelines for detecting cancer at its earliest stage. At the present time, your standards still include three very important things: your monthly self-exams, breast exams by your doctor, and mammograms.

To try to stop breast cancer from ever starting, the risk factors for breast cancer can be divided into two groups: ones that involve the actual make-up of you as a person and which cannot be altered; and ones that involve your environment or activities, and which you can change. Your knowledge of this breast cancer information could limit whether you or your daughter develop this disease – or your husband or son. Did you know men are affected by breast cancer also, although the incidence is low and accounts for less than 1% of the total cases of breast cancer? Well, you’ve got a lot to learn!