(WSBT) Don't let the pretty pink ribbon fool you — breast cancer is one of the deadliest cancers in the world. Statistics show just how dangerous skipping out on your yearly mammogram can be.

• In 2007, an estimated 178,480 new cases of invasive
  breast cancer will be diagnosed among women, as well
  as an estimated 62,030 additional cases of in situ breast
  cancer.

• In 2007, approximately 40,460 women are expected to
  die from breast cancer.

• In 2007, about 2,030 cases of breast cancer are
  expected to occur among men, accounting for about
  1% of all breast cancers. Approximately 450 men will
  die from breast cancer.

• In her lifetime, one in eight women will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer.

• It is estimated that 178,480 women will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in 2007. This is a 16% decrease from 2006.

• A woman will be diagnosed with breast cancer, an average, every three minutes.

• It is projected that 40,460 women will die from breast cancer in 2007. Therefore, a woman will die from breast cancer on average, every 13 minutes.

• In men, incidence of breast cancer in 2007 is estimated at 2,030. This is an increase from 1,720 in 2006. Projected deaths due to breast cancer among men are 450.

• Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women, except for non-melanoma skin cancers.

• Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women, after lung cancer.

• The rate of breast cancer deaths has steadily declined in women since 1990, with larger decreases in women younger than 50 (3.3% per year) than in women 50 and older (2.0% per year.) These decreases are due to a combination of earlier detection and improved treatment.

• According to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, mammography rates among women 40 and older significantly declined from 76.4% in 2000 to 74.6% in 2005. The report states that the decline suggests a need for more careful monitoring because mammography screening every one to two years can significantly reduce breast cancer mortality.

• The National Cancer Institute estimates that in 2003 (the latest year that results are available) at least 2.3 million women with a history of breast cancer were alive in the U.S. Some were cancer-free and some still had evidence of cancer and may have been undergoing treatment.
  

2007 American Cancer Society; National Cancer Institute, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's January 26 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report