Every single year, it accounts for 1% of the deaths that occur in the world. For example, in 2005, 502,000 people died as a consequence of breast cancer. This represents 7% of the deaths caused by cancer.

For women in the United States, it is the second biggest cancer killer, after lung cancer, and it affects one in eight women. One in thirty three women in the United States will die from breast cancer. Unfortunately, these numbers are increasing.   More detail...