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What CDC Is Doing About Breast Cancer

Breast Cancer in Young Women

CDC works with public, non-profit, and private partners to address breast cancer in women younger than 45 years of age through a variety of activities, including our Bring Your Brave campaign.

Surveillance

Cancer surveillance is the collection of information about cancer, including—

  • Which groups of people were diagnosed with breast cancer.
  • How far the breast cancer had spread at the time it was diagnosed.
  • How the cancer was treated (surgery, and whether the patients received chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or other treatment).

This information allows scientists to—

  • See how breast cancer rates change over time and whether more women are being diagnosed before their cancer has spread.
  • See which groups of people are more or less likely to get breast cancer.
  • Plan cancer prevention and control programs and determine if they are working.

CDC supports cancer surveillance through—

  • National Program of Cancer Registries (NPCR)
    Funded by CDC, this program collects information about cancer in the United States through state-based cancer registries. This information is used in breast cancer research and to answer community questions and concerns about breast cancer.
  • Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS)
    The BRFSS is the world’s largest ongoing telephone health survey system that gathers information by state on health risks in the United States. Information about our lifestyle (how much we exercise, what we eat), our habits or behaviors (like smoking or drinking alcohol), our family history, or other factors that may impact our risk of getting cancer is collected. The BRFSS also collects information about how many women have been screened for breast cancer.
  • National Health Interview Survey (NHIS)
    This survey collects information about a broad range of health topics, including information about breast cancer screening and risk factors for breast cancer.

Research

Community Programs

CDC supports many programs designed to prevent or control cancer.

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