Why Most Breast Cancers Aren't Inherited — and What Doctors Want Women to Know

Decades of progress in breast cancer care are reflected in two numbers many patients never hear. In the 1970s, five-year survival was in the 70% range, according to Dr. Alberto Montero, a medical oncologist, associate professor of medicine at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, and clinical director of the Breast Cancer Medical Oncology Program at University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center. Today, he said, it is above 95%, and early detection remains one of the most important reasons for that improvement.