Breast cancer: trends, risks, treatments, and effects.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer-related death for women in the United States (National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, 2006). Despite the plethora of readily available information, women die of this disease every day. Major strides have been made in early detection and treatment of breast cancer in recent years. However, more work remains. One in 8 (12%) U.S. women 90 years or younger will develop breast cancer sometime during her life (overall lifetime risk). Approximately 200,000 U.S. women and 1,500 U.S. men develop breast cancer each year. The three greatest risks for developing breast cancer are "female sex, increasing age, and family history of breast cancer" (Office of Genomics and Disease Prevention, 2006, p. 1).