About Metastatic Breast Cancer

Facts about Metastatic Breast Cancer (MBC):

● Breast Cancer is the most common cancer among women in the world

● There is no cure for Metastatic Breast Cancer, also known as Stage IV or advanced breast cancer

● MBC spreads mostly to bones, liver, lungs and brain

● 685,000 people a year die from metastatic breast cancer globally

● Over 43,000 die each year in the U.S. alone. That’s equivalent to 117 people per day!

● 98% of all deaths from breast cancer are from metastatic breast cancer

● MBC patients often feel invisible and forgotten in the pink ribbon campaigns

● The MBC awareness ribbon is teal, pink and green, designed and trademarked by METAvivor

● Black women have 41% higher mortality rate than Caucasian women

● Men also have breast tissue and can get breast cancer (1 in 833 men)

● MBC patients are in treatment for the duration of their life

● Only 31% of U.S. MBC patients live longer than 5 years

● Average life expectancy is 2-3 years after a MBC diagnosis

● Approx 30% of early stage breast cancer survivors will have a recurrence as MBC

● Stage 0 Breast cancer can return as Stage 4. It is not sequential.

● 6% of MBC patients are De Novo, diagnosed MBC from the start

● MBC patients don't always look sick because this disease can be invisible from the outside

● Young people do get diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer

● MBC can recur from several months to 25+ years after successful early stage treatment

● Every 3-6 months, MBC patients are scanned to look for progression

● There is no exact data of how many currently live with MBC due to lack of SEER info

Sources:

https://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/breast.html

https://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/disparities.html

https://www.metavivor.org/research/

https://www.metavivor.org/take-action/campaigns/lightupmbc

https://www.breastcancer.org/symptoms/understand_bc/statistics

https://cancerstatisticscenter.cancer.org/?_ga=2.162966908.1140413714.1567010270-

567828247.1567010270#!/cancer-site/Breast