Subject
title
Proclamation Declaring October 2024, as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month
end
Department
City Clerk/Director of Council Operations Office
Recommendation
Staff recommends Mayor and Council read and approve the proclamation.
Discussion
During National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we honor all those who lost their lives to Breast Cancer, and we recognize the courageous survivors who are fighting it. One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. 60-70% of people with breast cancer have no known pre-existing risk factors. Therefore, having an early detection plan including breast exams and mammograms is key. As part of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, National Mammography Day is observed on October 18, 2024, the third Friday in October. This day serves as a reminder that the best defense is early detection.
National Breast Cancer Awareness Month is an annual international health campaign organized every October to increase awareness of the disease and to raise funds for research into its cause, prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and cure. The campaign also offers information and support to those affected by breast cancer. This month, with pink ribbons displayed across America, we raise awareness of this disease and the need to advance research efforts.
How common is breast cancer?
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in the United States, except for skin cancers. It is about 30% (or 1 in 3) of all new female cancers each year.
The American Cancer Society's estimates for breast cancer in the United States for 2024 are:
• About 313,510 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in women.
• About 55,720 new cases of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) will be diagnosed.
• About 43,600 women will die from breast cancer.
Breast cancer mainly occurs in middle-aged and older women. The median age at the time of breast cancer diagnosis is 63. This means half of the women who developed breast cancer are 63 years of age or younger when they are diagnosed. A very small number of women diagnosed with breast cancer are younger than 45.
Trends in breast cancer deaths
Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women. (Only lung cancer kills more women each year.) The chance that a woman will die from breast cancer is about 1 in 39 (about 2.5%).
Since 2007, breast cancer death rates have been steady in women younger than 50 but have continued to decrease in older women. From 2013 to 2018, the death rate went down by 1% per year.
These decreases are believed to be the result of finding breast cancer earlier through screening and increased awareness, as well as better treatments.
Differences by race and ethnicity
Some variations in breast cancer can be seen between racial and ethnic groups. For example,
• The median age of diagnosis is slightly younger for Black women (60 years old) compared to white women 63 years old).
• Black women have the highest death rate from breast cancer. This is thought to be partly because about 1 in 5 Black women with breast cancer have triple-negative breast cancer - more than any other racial/ethnic group.
• Black women have a higher chance of developing breast cancer before the age of 40 than white women.
• At every age, Black women are more likely to die from breast cancer than any other race or ethnic group.
• White and Asian/Pacific Islander women are more likely to be diagnosed with localized breast cancer than Black, Hispanic, and American Indian/Alaska Native women.
• Asian/Pacific Islanders have the lowest death rate from breast cancer.
• American Indian/Alaska Natives have the lowest rates of developing breast cancer.
• Ashkenazi Jewish women (usually of Eastern European ancestry) are at a higher risk for getting breast cancer at a young age and also for getting ovarian and other cancers due to mutations in the BRCA gene. If a mother or father has a BRCA gene mutation, you have a 50% chance of having the same gene mutation.
• About 50 out of 100 women with a BRCA gene mutation will get breast cancer by the time they turn 70 years old, compared to only about 7 out of 100 women in the general U.S. population.
Breast cancer survivors
Currently there are more than 4 million breast cancer survivors in the United States. This includes women still being treated and those who have completed treatment.
Source: <https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/breast-cancer/about/how-common-is-breast-cancer.html>
Mayor and Council History
Mayor and Council issue this proclamation annually.