Breast Cancer

According to the American Cancer Society’s 2008 Cancer Facts & Figures, one out of every eight women is at risk of getting breast cancer in her lifetime. However, many of these women will survive breast cancer. In Arkansas, it is estimated that 1,790 women will be newly diagnosed with breast cancer and 410 will die of the disease in 2008. A woman’s best chances for survival are early detection through regular screening mammograms and clinical breast exams.

Risk Factors for Breast Cancer Include:

• Increasing age – as women get older their risk of developing breast cancer increases.
• Family history of breast cancer – women whose relatives have had breast cancer (especially at an early age) are more likely to get breast cancer.
• Breast cancer genes – about five percent to 10 percent of breast cancers are believed to be inherited.
• Personal history of breast cancer – a woman who has had cancer in one breast is more likely to develop it in the other breast or in the remaining breast tissue.
• History of breast disease – women who have a history of certain types of non-cancerous tumors and cysts in their breasts are more likely to develop breast cancer.
• Hormonal factors – women who start their periods at a young age, start menopause at a late age, have their first child later in life, and have no full-term pregnancies may have an increased risk of developing breast cancer.

Breast Cancer Facts and Figures

• In the year 2008, according to the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Facts & Figures, 182,460 new female breast cancer cases will be diagnosed in the United States and 40,480 deaths will occur from this disease among women.
• In Arkansas, the American Cancer Society's publication estimates that 1,790 new female breast cancer cases will be diagnosed and 410 female deaths will occur from the disease in 2008.
• Breast cancer can develop among men, however, approximately 99 percent of Arkansas breast cancer deaths will be among women.
• In Arkansas, Caucasian women are diagnosed more often with breast cancer but African American women have a 45 percent higher death rate from the disease.

Cervical Cancer

Even though it is an easily preventable disease with regular screening and easily curable when caught early, there are still 11,070 newly detected cervical cancers estimated to be diagnosed in the United States in 2008. Mortality rates, or death rates, increase as age increases. The good news is that cervical cancer is preventable and curable if detected early. Screening women using the Papanicolaou (Pap) test can prevent cervical cancer from developing most of the time by finding and removing lesions at an early stage before they become cancer.

Risk Factors for Cervical Cancer Include:

• Sexual behavior: cervical cancer is closely linked to sexually transmitted infections with certain types of human papilloma virus (HPV)
• Sex at early age
• Multiple sexual partners or sex with persons who have had several partners
• Cigarette smoking

Cervical Cancer Facts and Figures

• In the year 2008, the American Cancer Society estimates 130 new cervical cancers will be diagnosed in Arkansas and estimates a total of 11,070 new cervical cancers will be diagnosed in the USA.
• After the District of Columbia, Arkansas ranks second in the nation for cervical cancer mortality for the years –2001 -2005, according to CDC Wonder, a CDC online public health data resource.
• In Arkansas, the cervical cancer mortality rate for black women is twice as high as the cervical cancer mortality rate for white women.
• The cervical cancer mortality rate for Arkansas Hispanic women is almost three times the mortality rate for Hispanic women in the United States.
• In 2005, there were 139 newly diagnosed invasive cervical cancer cases in Arkansas and 52 cervical cancer deaths in Arkansas.