Facts about breast cancer

CEBU, Philippines - Fact # 1 All women are at risk. Approximately 70 percent of breast cancers occur in women with none of the known risk factors.

Fact # 2 Only about 5 percent of breast cancers are inherited. About 80 percent of women diagnosed with breast cancer will be the first to be victims in their families.

Fact # 3 Breast cancer is the leading killer of women ages 35 to 54 worldwide. More than a million women develop breast cancer without knowing it and almost 500,000 die from it every year.

Fact # 4 One out of four who are diagnosed with breast cancer die within the first five years. No less than 40 percent die within ten years.

Fact # 5 The incidence of breast cancer has been rising for the past 30 years. And the supposed authorities and experts that should know, don't know why.

Fact # 6 Risk factors are not necessarily causes of breast cancer. Enough evidence exist linking environmental pollution and contamination to cause breast cancer.

Fact # 7 Mammography fails to detect as much as 20 percent of all breast cancer and as much as 40 percent in women under the age of 50.

Fact # 8 Early detection does not prevent breast cancer. Avoiding and eliminating known causes will prevent breast cancer.

Fact # 9 One out of eight North American women will develop breast cancer. The San Francisco Bay Area has the highest incidence rate in the entire world.

Fact # 10 The Philippines has the highest incidence rate of breast cancer in Asia and is today considered to have the 9th highest incidence rate in the world today. (SOURCE: Philippine Breast Cancer Network)