Take a closer look at these statistics to help protect your friends, family and yourself from the perils of breast cancer.

• The most common cancer among women (excluding cancers of the skin.)
• The second leading cause of cancer deaths in women today.
• The sixth leading cause of death in women.
• More than 1.2 million people will be diagnosed each year world wide.
• 178,480 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in 2007 in the U.S.
• Another 59,390 in the U.S. will be diagnosed with non-invasive forms of the disease.
• 1 out of every 8 women will contract breast cancer.
• Over the past two decades, death rates have declined due to earlier detections and more effective treatments.
• Risk factors include age, race, previous history of breast cancer, a genetic predisposition, a family history of breast cancer.
• Additional lifestyle risk factors include obesity, lack of exercise, alcohol use, and smoking.
• Women over 40 years of age should have an annual mammogram to help detect breast cancer in its early stages.
• Women who have had a mother or sister with breast cancer should ask their physician about beginning annual mammograms 10 years prior to the age of diagnosis of the relative as early as 25.
• Mammograms can reduce breast cancer deaths by as much as one third.
• If diagnosed early, breast cancer has up to a 98% cure rate.