Early Detection Saves Lives

Breast cancer is the third leading cause of death for women in the United States where approximately 250,000 new breast cancer cases are diagnosed each year. “A significant proportion, between 10 and 20 percent, will be pre-invasive cancers, which is fortunate,” says Lisa Newman, M.D., director of the U-M Breast Care Center at the University of Michigan. Newman says those numbers reflect the value of screening mammography. “We are able to detect very small breast cancers. Frequently, we can catch these very early-stage breast cancers before they grow to the point where they would be a threat to the woman’s life,” she says.

Mammograms Are Part of the Picture

Women who get screened regularly have a 30 percent lower risk of dying from breast cancer compared to women who do not have yearly mammograms, but mammography is only one way of detecting this cancer that one in seven women will develop. One common misconception about breast cancer is that if her mammogram is normal, a woman doesn’t have to worry about breast cancer.

To test your knowledge of some of the most frequently asked questions about breast cancer, visit www.cancer.org/breastmyths.