Each day 56 Australians have one of the most frightening conversations of their life – they have breast cancer.
While more people are being diagnosed with breast cancer, survival rates are higher than ever before.
It is the most common cancer amongst women and according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, each year around 20,000 Australians are diagnosed with breast cancer and more than 3,300 die will from it.
National Breast Cancer Foundation Prevention Chair and Daffodil Centre researcher, Professor Nehmat Houssami said diagnoses are increasing not only due to improved screening but also risk profiles of the population.
“We’re screening more, we’re also developing better imaging techniques and women are aware that if they have a symptom, they should present,” she said.
“So increased awareness, better diagnostics and population wide screening for women over 40 or over 50, is leading to more breast cancer being identified.
“But it is also due to the fact that breast cancer incidences are also increasing, meaning that we are becoming more at risk of breast cancer.
“That’s due to changes in the risk profile of the population.
“For example, maybe obesity has increased or we may be having children at a later age.
“There are changes in the risk factor profiles over generations that are also truly increasing breast cancer incidences.”
Breast cancer now accounts for 27 per cent of all cancers diagnosed in Australian women, with one in seven women expected to be diagnosed during their lifetime.
According to Cancer Australia, women who are 50 years old are approximately 10 times more likely to develop breast cancer compared to women who are 30 years old.
In Australia, the average age of women diagnosed with breast cancer is 61 years. More than 75 per cent of breast cancers in Australia are diagnosed in women aged 50 years or older.
Approximately 0.5 per cent of all breast cancers in Australia are diagnosed in women under 30 years, 4 per cent in women aged 30-39 years and 16 per cent diagnosed in women aged 40-49 years.
Despite these rising numbers, data shows the five year relative survival rate for people diagnosed with breast cancer has increased from 75 per cent in 1987–1991 to 92.7 per cent in 2017–2021.
Encouragingly, the mortality rate fell from 21.2 deaths per 100,000 people in 1991, when Australia’s national screening program launched, to 12.1 per 100,000 in 2025.
Specifically in relation to women, the death rate due to breast cancer decreased from 37.9 deaths per 100,000 women in 1991 to 22.3 deaths per 100,000 women in 2025.
Breast cancer survivor and founder of the One more Step Foundation, Josie Flynn-Hill said these statistics gave her hope while undergoing treatment.
“At first, all you hear is cancer, then come the details, type, stage, treatment, risks and it’s overwhelming,” she said.
“But learning more about the science, treatment advances, and survival rates gave me hope.
“I had triple-negative breast cancer, which is considered aggressive, but I responded extremely well to treatment and achieved a complete pathological response, meaning no residual cancer was found after treatment and surgery.
“That gave me enormous hope. The statistics matter because they show progress. More women are being diagnosed, but detection and treatment are improving, and more women are surviving.
“It doesn’t make the journey easy, but it does make hope possible.”
People with non-invasive and early-stage invasive breast cancers tend to have better survival than those with metastatic breast cancer.
However, improvements in surgery, chemotherapy and targeted treatments have all contributed to better patient outcomes for all stages.
Earlier detection also means cancers are often found before they have spread, giving patients more treatment options and increasing their chances of survival.
“I was 50, right at the age where screening becomes especially important,” Ms Flynn-Hill said.
“But my cancer wasn’t found through routine screening, it was found because I noticed a change and acted on it.
“My message to women is simple, don’t delay and don’t wait for life to settle down or for the right time, just book the appointment.
“Most breast changes won’t be cancer, but you need to know. Early detection gives you more treatment options and in some cases can save your life.”
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For fighters, survivors and their loved ones, these statistics translate into more reason for hope but also the need for continued vigilance.
Health experts say early detection remains the strongest tool available and outcomes are still closely tied to how quickly cancer is found and treated.
“We know that screening means that we can find cancer early and treat it effectively. But we also know that only around 50 per cent of women who are eligible to get breast screening actually go,” Professor Houssami said.
“There are still some types of breast cancer that are a little bit aggressive and we need better treatments for those and that’s only going to come with ongoing research.”
Ultimately, the story of breast cancer in Australia is not one of resolution but of transition from a highly fatal disease to one where survival is increasingly the expectation, not the exception.
Chief Executive Officer of the National Breast Cancer Foundation, Dr Cleola Anderiesz said in a media release that people in Australia have a larger chance of survival than those in other countries.
“Australia’s mortality rate from breast cancer is significantly lower than many other countries, underscoring the impact of research and national efforts to diagnose breast cancer early and provide best practice comprehensive breast management,” Dr Anderiesz said.
Behind the numbers, advances in healthcare have fundamentally changed what a breast cancer diagnosis means today.
