Survival rates for breast cancer

Some people with cancer may want to know the survival rates for their type of cancer. Others may not find the numbers helpful, or may even not want to know them. Whether or not you want to read about survival rates is up to you. If you decide that you do not want to read about them, skip to the next section.

The 5-year survival rate refers to the percentage of patients who live at least 5 years after their cancer is found. Of course, many people live much longer than 5 years. Also, people with cancer can die from other things, and these numbers do not take into account the fact that some of the deaths are from causes other than breast cancer. These numbers are based on women treated a number of years ago. Because we now find more cancers early and use newer, better treatments, the survival rates are getting better all the time.

This table does not divide survival rates by all of the sub stages, such as IA and IB. The rates for these sub stages are likely to be close to the rate for the overall stage.

*These numbers are correct as written (stage IIIB shows worse survival than stage IIIC).

While these numbers provide an overall picture, keep in mind that every woman is unique and the statistics can't predict exactly what will happen in your case. Talk with your cancer care team if you have questions about your own chances of a cure or how long you might survive your cancer. They know your situation best.