Breast cancer is the most common cancer among Canadian women.

Breast cancer incidence is the number of new cases diagnosed in a population over a specific time period.

• In 2007, an estimated 22,300 women in Canada will be diagnosed with breast cancer. On average, that is about 429 women diagnosed every week.
• In 2007, an estimated 170 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer. Men with breast cancer make up a little less than 1% of all cases.
• In 2007, an estimated 5,300 women and 50 men will die from breast cancer.

One in nine (11%) Canadian women is expected to develop breast cancer during her lifetime (this means by age 90).
 
One in every 27 Canadian women will die from breast cancer. This means that about two-thirds of the women diagnosed with breast cancer in Canada will survive.

The Good News…

• Since 1999, the incidence of breast cancer in Canada has stabilized.
• Since 1986, breast cancer mortality rates have declined 25%.
• The five-year survival rate for a woman diagnosed with breast cancer is 85%. 
• The biggest improvement in survival has been in the 50 – 69 age group. Higher survival rates have been attributed to improved screening and treatment.

Source: Canadian Cancer Society /National Cancer Institute of Canada. Canadian Cancer Statistics 2007, Toronto, Canada, 2007.