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Breast cancer is the most
common cancer among Australian
women after non-melanoma skin cancer,
followed
by bowel cancer, melanoma and lung cancer
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One in 11 Australian women will
be diagnosed with the disease before the age of 75
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In 2000 (last available
national figures), a total of 11,700
women and 86 men were diagnosed with
breast cancer
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As with most cancers, the risk
of breast cancer
increases with age. 25% of the new breast cancer cases
diagnosed in 1999 were among women aged 20-49; 48%
among women aged 50-69; and
27% among women aged 70+
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A total of 2,511 women died
from breast cancer in Australia in 2000.
It is the most common cause of
cancer-related death in women,
followed by lung cancer and bowel cancer
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From 1994 to 2003, the breast
cancer death rates
declined by an average of 2% per year
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The five-year relative survival
rate for Australian women with breast cancer during 1992-97 was 84%,
compared
with 72.3% in 1982-86.
The five-year relative survival rate represents the
proportion of people who would survive five years
after diagnosis with cancer,
if all other causes of death were excluded
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Survival is improving due to
better detection and
improved treatment resulting from excellent
research