Breast cancer by the numbers: How survival rates have improved over the past 40 years

Since the first Breast Cancer Awareness Month initiatives kicked off 40 years ago, major improvements have been made in treating the disease. While the rates of women diagnosed with breast cancer have increased, death rates have been declining, and five-year survival rates have risen. Additionally, most breast cancer cases are being diagnosed in early stages before the disease has spread, making it easier to treat. "It’s so exciting to be someone treating breast cancer because we can see that our treatments and improvements in treatments are actually making women live longer on average," Dr. Julia McGuinness, an assistant professor of medicine within the division of hematology/oncology at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, told ABC News. Here's a look at the progress made in the fi