The Latest Facts and Stats on Breast Cancer in Canada

• In 2007, an estimated 22,300 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and 5,300 will die of it. *
• Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in Canadian women, accounting for an estimated 30% of all cancer cases. ‡
• On average, 429 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer every week. †
• Breast cancer deaths comprise the second highest cancer death rate, after lung cancer, among Canadian women. ‡
• Over 99% of breast cancer is found in women. *
• One in nine Canadian women will develop breast cancer at some point during her lifetime and one in twenty- seven will die of it. *
• According to the Breast Cancer Society of Canada 70% of women diagnosed with breast cancer have no known risk factors. †
• According to the Breast Cancer Society of Canada the cause of breast cancer is unknown and it cannot be prevented. †

The number of breast cancer cases has risen every year and this rise is paralleled by the increasing numbers of induced abortions reported by Statistics Canada. Abortions increased from 69,499 in 1984 to 100,039 in 2004. The number of new breast cancer cases reported for the first time nationally in 1984 was 10,321 and rose to 21,200 in 2004.

* Canadian Cancer Society: Suite 200, 10 Alcorn Avenue, Toronto, ON, Canada, M4V 3B1, † Breast Cancer Society of Canada: 118 Victoria St. North, Sarnia, ON, Canada,
N7T 5W9, ‡ Canadian Cancer Society/National Cancer Institute of Canada: Canadian Cancer Statistics 2007, Toronto, Canada, 2007.