Breast Cancer Statistics | Inform me| Pink Ribbon

Breast cancer is an issue that affects us all!

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in women in Canada and the second leading cause of cancer deaths in Canadian women.
An estimated 28,600 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer every year in Canada, and 5,500 women will die from it.
In Quebec, an estimated 6,900 women are diagnosed with breast cancer yearly, and 1,350 women die from it.
Women aged 50 to 69 have the highest rate of breast cancer. Among the women between the ages of 20 and 49 that ave been diagnosed with cancer, 18% of them have breast cancer. It is actually the leading cause of cancer deaths in this age group.

In Canada, it is also estimated that 270 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer each year and 55 will die from it. Learn more about male breast cancer here.

These statistics indicate that if these trends continue:

1 in 8 women will develop breast cancer in her lifetime.
1 in 34 women will die of breast cancer.

Some survival statistics

Statistics show that an early detection improves the chances of survival and access to more effective treatments.
Mortality rates due to breast cancer have been steadily decreasing since the mid-1980s. In fact, the age-standardized mortality rate [1] has fallen by 40% since 1986. The five-year survival rate is currently 89% for women and 76% for men.

This reduction can be explained, among other things, by earlier diagnosis, in particular through the Québec Breast Cancer Screening Program (PQDCS). Moreover, treatments for breast cancer are getting better and better because of research programs.

Number of cancer deaths per 100,000 resident, adjusted for the age distribution of the Canadian population in 1991, to take into account the changes in the age distribution over time.