251 South Australian women died of breast cancer in 2007 and it represents about 17 per cent of all cancer deaths among South Australian women. 

12,614 women were diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006. 

2,618 women died of breast cancer in 2006 and it is the 2nd most common cause of cancer death. 

One in 11 women in Australia will develop breast cancer by the age of 75 (1 in 9 by age 85). 

Breast cancer rates are 5 per cent higher among women living in metropolitan areas compared with women living in rural areas. 

Breast cancer is also more common among women residing in high socio-economic areas. 

Breast cancer rates are slightly lower among women born overseas compared with Australian born women. 

Around 5 per cent of breast cancers are familial (due to inherited genetic mutations). 

Rates of breast cancer have increased over the past two decades, most of this increase has occurred since the introduction of mammography in the early 1990s. At the same time death rates from breast cancer have declined over this period. 

The five year survival rate for breast cancer is the highest of all women’s cancer at 88 per cent. 

This can be attributed to advances in early detection and treatment.