Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women. A major health problem in many parts of the world, it is especially prevalent in developed countries. As a result of large-scale screening of women considered at higher risk, a greater number of breast cancers have been discovered and treated in recent years, even in cases where the women experienced no symptoms. The American Cancer Society (ACS) estimates that in the United States about 203,500 new cases are diagnosed and about 40,000 women die each year from cancer originating in the breast. One in eight American women who live to age 85 will develop this illness at some time during her life. This rate of incidence increases with age, and women 75 years and older are at highest risk.

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