Did you know that more than 2 million breast cancer survivors are currently living in the United States today? According to Susan G. Komen’s first-ever State of Breast Cancer report, “Today, a person who has been diagnosed with breast cancer in the earliest stages has a 98 percent chance of living at least five more years, on average, compared to only 77 percent in 1982. The overall breast cancer death rate has decreased by about 2 percent each year since 1990.” While these numbers speak clearly about the progress that has been made against breast cancer, we have a ways to go until we find a cure. And we have to use our collective bulldog determination to get there.

Many advances have contributed to making breast cancer survivors the single largest group of cancer survivors in the US. They are:

• Research: Research has shown that breast cancer is many diseases, not just one disease. Each different type ofbreast cancer should be treated in its own way, targeted specifically to each type.
• New Drugs: Drugs are beginning to be made tailored to each type of breast cancer, allowing better-targetedtreatment for cancer patients. The targeted drugs have also significantly improved the chance of long-term survival for patients with certain types of the disease.
• Screening: Improvements in mammography technology have come a long way since the creation in '60s.
• Education: Education has become increasingly more and more important in early detection and prevention.
• Advocacy: With an increase in organizations and non-profits geared toward early detection and breast cancer research across the world, there has been a significant increase in funding. The more awareness, the better the chance we have finding a cure.
• Cost: Over the past 25 years, the U.S. government has spent billions pursuing the causes, prevention, and potential cure for breast cancer. The National Cancer Institute spends about $5 billion yearly, with cancer costing $200 billion in healthcare costs.

Breast Cancer on the Horizon

Even with the advancements that have been made in recent years, a victory cannot be declared just yet. According to the Komen State of Breast Cancer report …

• Globally, more than 1.1 million women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year—and more than 410,000 will lose the battle this year.
• In the United States, almost 240,000 women will be diagnosed this year—and 40,000 will die from breast cancer this year. 
• Globally, a case of breast cancer is diagnosed every 29 seconds, and a woman dies every 75 seconds.
• Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in Latinas.
• African American women have a 35 percent higher breast cancer death rate than Caucasian women.

There are still unknowns in the breast cancer solution equation as well. The cause of breast cancer is still unknown. According to the Komen Report, “Only 5 to 10 percent of breast cancers can be linked to a strong family history. Most women with breast cancer have no known risk factors.” There is no way to prevent breast cancer, though there are risk-lowering measures like a cancer-fighting diet and regular exercise, and there is no “magic bullet” for breast cancer either.

Even with all the advancements made thus far, many people do not benefit from them. According to the Komen Report, “For some types of breast cancer, treatment choices have not improved. Also, barriers—from beliefs, to poverty, to geography, to the way medicine is practiced—prevent many women from getting the best screening or care. Outside the U.S., these barriers are even greater.”

New treatments, like sentinel lymph node biopsy, HER2/neu, hormone receptor status, have become more available to more people, with acts like “Breast and Cervical Cancer Prevention and Treatment Act" (BCCPTA), allowing states to provide assistance to low-income women with breast cancer.

Steps Forward

According to the Komen State of Research, “Understanding, curing and preventing breast cancer remain research priorities. However, we also need to continue to fund research that leads to improved treatment options for people diagnosed with the disease today.” Be sure and get involved on any level—if not for yourself—for your mother, sister, aunt, grandmother, or friend. Do your part to contribute to finding a cure for breast cancer!