According to the American Cancer Society, breast cancer is the second most common form of cancer among women and the second leading cause of death among women. It is also a leading allegation in medical malpractice claims involving the failure to diagnose. An estimated 182,460 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to occur among women in the US during 2008. An estimated 40,930 breast cancer deaths are expected in 2008, (40,480 in women and 450 in men). Researchers have found that certain risk factors, such as a woman’s age when she had her first menstrual period or her age when she had her first baby, can influence her chance of getting the disease. The risk of breast cancer increases as women get older, with the majority of breast cancer cases occurring in women older than age 50.

The Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Tool http://bcra.nci.nih.gov/brc/ is an interactive tool designed by scientists at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) http://www.nsabp.pitt.edu/ to estimate a woman's risk of developing invasive breast cancer. The tool has been updated for African American women based on the Contraceptive and Reproductive Experiences (CARE) Study. Health care providers can use this tool to estimate a woman’s chances of developing breast cancer based on several recognized risk factors. This tool estimates a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer over the next five years, as well as over her entire lifetime.