October - The Breast Cancer Awareness Month Worldwide

October is the national breast cancer awareness month. Due to poor hygiene conditions breast cancer cases are more among rural women and it's common in urban women. It is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in women today, after lung cancer.

According to WHO 1 in 8 women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime. The lifetime probability of developing breast cancer in India is one in 22 women compared to one in eight in US. UK and other developed countries. In India, the number of new breast cancer cases is about 115,000 per year and this is expected to rise to 250,000 new cases per year by 2015.

Each year 10.9 million people suffer from breast cancer worldwide that results in 6.7 million deaths each year.

Breast Cancer Rate Worldwide
Age 20-29: 1 in 2,000
Age 30-39: 1 in 229
Age 40-49: 1 in 68
Age 50-59: 1 in 37
Age 60-69: 1 in 26
Ever: 1 in 8