What is the survival rate for breast cancer?
The 5-year survival rate (which includes all women living five years after diagnosis, whether the patient is in remission, disease-free, or under treatment) for localized breast cancer has risen from 72% in the 1940s to 97% today. If the cancer has spread regionally at the time of diagnosis, however, the 5-year survival rate is 78%. For persons with distant metastases at the time of diagnosis, the 5-year survival rate is 23%. Unlike survival for many other cancers that tend to level off after five years, survival after a diagnosis of breast cancer continues to decline beyond the five years. According to the most currently available data, 86% of the women diagnosed with breast cancer survive 5 years, 76% survive 10 years and 58% survive 15 years (source: American Cancer Society Facts & Figures, 2001-2002).
