The Nation : Breast Cancer Deaths Up, Study Finds

Federal cancer researchers reported that the death rate from breast cancer is going up and that the highest rates are in the North--although they are not exactly sure why. Breast cancer killed 40,354 women in the United States in 1986, the latest year for which detailed statistics are available, the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta said. The annual death rate, 32.8 per 100,000 women, is up 5% from 1979, when it was 31.1. Still, breast cancer is survivable in most cases. According to the National Cancer Institute, 75% of breast cancer patients live at least five years after diagnosis. The highest annual death rate--41 per 100,000 women--was found in Delaware, with the lowest, 23 per 100,000, in Hawaii. CDC researchers said at least 19% of breast cancer deaths could have been prevented if the victims had undergone mammograms.