Facts and Figures

Breast cancer is the most common cancer and the leading cause of cancer death among women in Ireland.
Irish women have a 1 in 11 chance of developing breast cancer in their lifetime.
Each year, over 2000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer.
Around 650 women die from breast cancer annually
While the incidence of breast cancer is rising, mortality rates are decreasing
More than 25,000 women in Ireland are living following a breast cancer diagnosis
Mammographic screening is effective in reducing breast cancer mortality rates - women should participate in breast screening from the age of 50.
Only 5 to 10% of breast cancers are hereditary.
The risk of developing breast cancer increases with age - 75% of breast cancers are diagnosed over the age of 50 and 37% in women over 65.
The chances of any one woman having exactly the same breast cancer as another woman is 1 in 200.
In Europe a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer every 2 minutes

For the years 1994 - 2005:

Annual Increase in rate is 2.4%
an average of 1910 cases a year were diagnosed between 1994 and 2005
2379 cases were diagnosed in 2006
27 men were diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005 - a significant rise on earlier years.
Incidence was 26% lower in Ireland than in the USA
Ireland ranked in the middle of rates observed across Western Europe.

was lower in Ireland than the European average, but similar to levels in England and Scotland.
Ireland ranked in the upper third of rates in European countries.
mortality was 33% higher in Ireland than in the USA.

Note: Incidence figures for 2004 and 2005 are provisional

Women and Cancer in Ireland, 1994 - 2001, published by the National Cancer Registry of Ireland and the Women's Health Council in February 2006.
Cancer in Ireland 1994-2005: a summary. National Cancer Registry of Ireland. 2007