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It is estimated that 232,340 women will be diagnosed with and 39,620 women will die of cancer of the breast in 2013.

Survival & Stage

Survival can be calculated by different methods for different purposes. The survival statistics presented here are based on relative survival, which measures the survival of the cancer patients in comparison to the general population to estimate the effect of cancer.

The overall 5-year relative survival for 2003-2009 from 18 SEER geographic areas was 89.2%.

Five-year relative survival by race was: 90.4% for white women; 78.7% for black women.


Stage Distribution and 5-year Relative Survival by Stage at Diagnosis for 2003-2009, All Races, Females Stage at Diagnosis

Stage:
Localized (confined to primary site): Distribution (%) 61%; Five-year Relative Survival (%) 98.6 %

Regional (spread to regional lymph nodes): Distribution (%) 32%; Five-year Relative Survival (%) 84.4%

Distant (cancer has metastasized): Distribution (%) 5% Five-year Relative Survival (%) 24.3

Unknown (unstaged): Distribution (%) 2%, Five-year Relative Survival (%) 50.0%