Worldwide, breast cancer is the third leading cause of death among women, trailing lung cancer and skin cancer. In 2010, it is expected that more than 1.3 million people will be diagnosed with breast cancer. The chance of getting breast cancer varies by age. The younger a woman is, the less likely she is to get breast cancer. As a woman gets older, her risk of breast cancer increases with her age. Women in their twenties have only a 0.3% chance of developing breast cancer, which is only one out of every 1,985 women. When women are in their thirties, they have a 0.4% chance, which is only one out of every 229 women. For women in their forties, the chance is slightly higher at 1.4% chance, which is one out of every 68. Women in their fifties have a 2.6% chance, one out of every 37; and women in their sixties have a higher chance of 3.6%, which is one out of every 26 women. The only mitigating factor is that younger women tend to get more serious and aggressive forms of cancer than older women, and actually have a high mortality rate. Women younger than forty-five have a survival rate of 81%; women from forty-five to sixty-five have a survival rate of 85% and women older than sixty-five have a rate of 86%.

Staging is the grading by which doctors rate the development of a tumor after it is found. They take into consideration the size of the tumor, its location and its growth rate. The determination of the stage helps the doctors to provide the most optimal form of treatment.

The early stages of cancer are Stage 0 and Stage I. Stage 0 is a non-invasive cancer which is confined to the milk ducts (DCIS) or the milk glands (LCIS) of the breast. Stage I is an invasive cancer, which means the cancer has grown past the ducts or glands and has invaded the surrounding tissue. In Stage I the tumor is two centimeters or less, and has only invaded the surrounding tissue not the lymph nodes. The survival rate for five years is 100%.

Stage II and Stage III are considered mid-stage cancers. Stage II cancers are divided into two categories known as IIA and IIB. Stage IIA cancer is an invasive cancer with a survival rate of 92%, and includes the following three cancer types. The tumor is in the axillary lymph nodes (the lymph nodes under the arm), but not in the breast itself; or is in the breast and the lymph nodes, but measures two centimeters or less; or is in the breast only, and measures between two and five centimeters. Stage IIB cancer is a tumor which is only in the breast, but is larger than five centimeters; or is in both the breast and the axillary lymph nodes, and measures between two and five centimeters. The survival rate is 81% over 5 years.

Stage III cancer is divided into three categories which are IIIA, IIIB, and IIIC. Stage IIIA has a survival rate of 67% and is a tumor which is in the axillary lymph nodes and is sticking to nearby tissues; or is in both the breast and the axillary lymph nodes and is sticking to other tissues. A Stage IIIB tumor refers to one which has spread to the chest wall or the skin, or spread to the lymph nodes near the breastbone. A Stage IIIC tumor is one which has spread to the chest wall or the skin, and in addition, has spread to the lymph nodes above or below the collarbone, and may have spread to the axillary lymph nodes and the lymph nodes near the breast bone. Both Stages IIIB and IIIC have a survival rate of 54% over 5 years.

Stage IV cancer is considered a late stage, invasive cancer. This is a cancer which has spread to the other organs like the lungs, liver, bones or brain. The survival rate is 20% over 5 years.

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