Key statistics

• Breast cancer is the second most common cause of cancer-related death in women in Australia.
• Age is the biggest risk factor in developing the disease. Over 75 per cent of breast cancers occur in women 50 years and over.
• Nine out of 10 women who get breast cancer DON’T have a family history of breast cancer.
• The lifetime risk of women developing breast cancer before age 75 years is one in 11.
• From 1993 onwards, there has been a steady decline in the age-standardised mortality rates for women in the target age group of 50-69 years. The mortality rate for these women in 1989 was 66.7 deaths per 100,000 women; in 2006 the corresponding figure was 47.5.
• In 2005-2006, 1,622,481 women participated in BreastScreen Australia screening. Of these women, 1,241,796 (76.5%) were in the screening program target age group of 50 to 69 years.
• The program's aim is to achieve a participation rate of 70% among women aged 50-69 years. At present, the program is screening 56.9% of women in this age group.
• In 2006, there were 3,855 invasive cancers detected by BreastScreen Australia.
• BreastScreen Australia operates in over 500 locations nationwide via fixed, relocatable and mobile screening units.

Sources

Page currency, Latest update: 14 September, 2009