How many people are affected by breast cancer ?
Breast cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer in women. (Only skin cancer is more common.) About one in eight women in the United States will develop invasive breast cancer in her lifetime. Researchers estimate that more than 230,000 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in U.S. women in 2015.  Male breast cancer represents less than 1 percent of all breast cancer diagnoses. Scientists estimate that about 2,300 new cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed in men in 2015.  Particular gene mutations associated with breast cancer are more common among certain geographic or ethnic groups, such as people of Ashkenazi (central or eastern European) Jewish heritage and people of Norwegian, Icelandic, or Dutch ancestry.