Today, celebrity presenter and E! host Giuliana Rancic announced that she has been diagnosed with early stage breast cancer. She and her husband found out about the diagnosis while undergoing IVF treatment in their third attempt to get pregnant. When celebrities are diagnosed with any disease it raises awareness and when it is breast cancer - during Breast Cancer Awareness Month - there are many opportunities to discuss incidence and treatments.
Here is the information that the National Cancer Institute has issued today in response to Giuliana's diagnosis:
- Breast cancer comprises 22.9 per cent of all cancers in women
- approximately 81 per cent of cases occur in those over the age of 50.
- there were an estimated 232,620 new cases (230,480 female, 2,140 male)
- and 39,970 deaths (39,520 female and 450 male) in the U.S. in 2011
There are several types of breast cancer - divided into non-invasive and invasive types - which can be diagnosed at different stages of development and can grow at different rates. The best results come from early diagnosis...if you are over 40 call and schedule your mammogram. If you are under 40, discuss your risk with your doctor to see if you should have a baseline mammogram earlier than most women.
Posted on
Mon, October 17, 2011
by Alicia Prince