30 Amazing and Interesting Facts about Breast Cancer | Amazing Facts 4U
- The first recorded mastectomy for breast occurred in A.D. 548 on Theodora, Empress of Byzantine.
- Breast cancer was one of the first cancers to be described by ancient physicians. For example, physicians in ancient Egypt described breast cancer more than 3,500 years ago. One surgeon describes “bulging” tumours in the breast of which “there is no cure.”
- In 400 B.C., Hippocrates describe breast cancer as a humoral disease caused by black bile or melancholia. He labelled cancer karkinos, meaning “crab,” because the tumours seemed to have tentacles which looked like the legs of crab.
- The first operation to use anaesthesia was a breast cancer surgery.
- Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer among American women after skin cancer. It is the second leading cause of cancer death in women after lung cancer.
- The incidence of breast cancer is highest in more developed countries and lowest in less developed countries.
- The left breast is statistically more prone to developing cancer than the right breast. Reason is not known.
- In the U.S., on average one woman die of breast cancer every 15 minutes. The United States has the most cases of breast cancer in the world.
- Only 5-10% of breast cancers occur in women who have a genetic predisposition for it.
- Nearly 10.4 % of all cancers in women is breast cancer.
- Approximately 1.2 million cases of breast cancer are diagnosed around the world each year. About 75% are found in women over age 50.
- When breast cancer spreads beyond the breast, it is said to be “metastatic.” The most common places breast cancer spreads to are the bones, liver, and lungs.
- There are currently 2.5 million breast cancer survivors living in the United States.
- Usually 95% of new cases and 97% of breast cancer deaths occurred in women 40 years and older. The biggest single risk factor for breast cancer is age.
- White women have a higher incidence of breast cancer than African American women. However, African American women are more likely to die from breast cancer than white women.
- About 1 in 3,000 pregnant or lactating women will develop breast cancer. Research has shown that once a woman has been diagnosed with breast cancer during pregnancy, her chances of survival are less than a non-pregnant woman.
- Mammography was initially used in 1969 when the first specialized X-ray units for breast imagining were developed.
- Women age 40 and older should have screening mammograms every 1 to 2 years. It is estimated that if every woman over the age of 50 had her yearly mammogram, breast cancer deaths in this age group would drop by 25% or more.
- Tumors are more likely to be malignant when they are firm and have irregular shapes, while benign tumors are more likely to feel round or soft. On average, it takes 100 days or more for a cancer cell to double in size. It takes about 10 years for cells to divide to a size that can be actually felt.
- Breast cancer in men is rare, accounting for approximately 1% of breast cancer rates. African American men are more likely to die from breast cancer than white men.
- One in 40 women of Ashkenazi (French, German, and East European) Jewish descent carry the BRCA1 and BRCA2 (breast cancer) gene, which is significantly higher than in the general population where only 1 in 500 to 800 people carry the gene.
- In 1882, the father of American surgery, William Steward Halstead (1852-1922), introduced the first radical mastectomy (the breast tissue underlying chest muscle and the lymph nodes are removed). Until the mid 1970s, 90% of women with breast cancer were treated with this procedure.
- The youngest known survivor of breast cancer is Aleisha Hunter from Ontario, Canada. At only three years old, Aleisha underwent a complete mastectomy in 2010 to treat her juvenile strain of breast cancer.
- Breastfeeding has consistently been shown to reduce breast cancer, the greater the duration, the greater the benefit.
- No association has been found between breast implants and an increased risk of breast cancer.
- The most common type of breast cancer (70%) originates in the breast ducts and is known as ductal carcinoma. A less common type of breast cancer (15%) is known as lobular carcinoma or cancer that originates in the lobules. More rare types of cancers include medullary carcinoma, Paget’s disease and tubular carcinoma.
- Research has found that pomegranates may help prevent breast cancer. Chemicals called ellagitannins block the production of estrogen, which can fuel some types of breast cancer.
- Studies report that breast cancer patients with diabetes were nearly 50% more likely to die than those who didn’t have diabetes.
- October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM). The first NBCAM took place in October 1985.
- Not all lumps that are found in the breast are cancerous but may be a fibrocystic breast condition, which is benign.
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