Winning the Battle Against Breast Cancer
If you are seeking treatment for breast cancer, you probably already know how widespread it is among women.
Statistics Are Abstract; Lives Aren’t
Michelle Fusman was diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer at age 34. Six years later Michelle is running two very successful salons in Seattle. Read more about Michelle.The good news is that breast cancer is a highly curable disease if detected and treated early. Where you choose to go for initial treatment also has a significant impact on your likelihood of survival. As you can see below, breast cancer patients treated by SCCA have high survival rates compared to other treatment centers.
Breast Cancer Survival Rates
Below are the five-year survival rates for breast cancer patients treated by SCCA compared to patients who were treated for breast cancer elsewhere. This information was collected by the National Cancer Data Base (NCDB) for patients who were diagnosed either between 1998 and 2002 or between 2003 and 2004 and then followed for five years. The NCBD data set for 1998-2002 classifies hospitals into three types (Community Cancer Center, Comprehensive Community Cancer Center, and Academic/Research Hospital), whereas the 2003-2004 data combines these three classifications into one.
We've used the latest data set where possible. For stage 0 and stage I breast cancer, the 2003-2004 data set did not provide statistically accurate results, so we've used the 1998-2002 data set instead. There were not enough SCCA patients diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer between 1998 and 2002 or between 2003 and 2004 to provide statistically accurate results.
Stage 0 Breast Cancer: Diagnosed 1998-2002
- SCCA patients are represented by the red line. Their five-year survival rate was 98 percent from the time they were first diagnosed by SCCA. Note that only patients who received all of their care from SCCA are included.
- Patients from the other types of treatment centers—Community Cancer Centers, Comprehensive Community Cancer Centers, and Academic/Research Hospitals—are represented by blue, green, and yellow lines. Their five-year survival rates were between 94 and 96 percent.
Stage I Breast Cancer: Diagnosed 1998-2002
- SCCA patients are represented by the red line. Their five-year survival rate was 99 percent from the time they were first diagnosed by SCCA. Note that only patients who received all of their care from SCCA are included.
- Patients from the other types of treatment centers—Community Cancer Centers, Comprehensive Community Cancer Centers, and Academic/Research Hospitals—are represented by blue, green, and yellow lines. Their five-year survival rates were between 88 and 93 percent.
Stage II Breast Cancer: Diagnosed 2003-2004
- SCCA patients are represented by the red line. Their five-year survival rate was 93 percent from the time they were first diagnosed by SCCA. Note that only patients who received all of their care from SCCA are included.
- Patients from the other types of treatment centers—Community Cancer Centers, Comprehensive Community Cancer Centers, and Academic/Research Hospitals—are represented by the blue line. Their combined five-year survival rate was 85 percent.
Stage III Breast Cancer: Diagnosed 2003-2004
- SCCA patients are represented by the red line. Their five-year survival rate was 91 percent from the time they were first diagnosed by SCCA. Note that only patients who received all of their care from SCCA are included.
- Patients from the other types of treatment centers—Community Cancer Centers, Comprehensive Community Cancer Centers, and Academic/Research Hospitals—are represented by the blue line. Their combined five-year survival rate was 66 percent.
The NCDB tracks the outcomes of 70 percent of all newly diagnosed cancer in the United States from more than 1,500 commission-accredited cancer programs. It has been collecting data from hospital cancer registries since 1989 and now has almost 26 million records.
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