U.S. Risk Statistics
Understanding what the numbers mean.
Lifetime Risk
This statistic is based on everyone in the population sample living at least beyond the age of 70. Since breast cancer risk increases the older you are, age is a major factor. The most common “lifetime risk” statistic you have probably heard is the “1 in 8 women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime.” What it should really read is “If everyone lived beyond the age of 70, 1 in 8 of those women would get breast cancer.”
According to estimates of lifetime risk by the U.S. National Cancer Institute, about 13.2% of women in the U.S. will develop breast cancer…which is the same as saying 1 in 7.57 people. And since there is no such thing as .57 of a person, the common phrase is “1 in 8.”
Here are the numbers according to age groups:
Age 20-30: 1 in 2,000
Age 30-39: 1 in 229
Age 40-49: 1 in 68
Age 50-59: 1 in 37
Age 60-69: 1 in 26
Ever: 1 in 8
Source: American Cancer Society Breast Cancer Facts & Figures, 2005-2006.
However, after all of this, the chance that breast cancer will be responsible for your death in the U.S. is about 3%.
