Jennifer Mendoza
Research expert covering health, pharma and medtech
Cancer among women in the U.S. - Statistics & Facts
Cancer is the second leading cause of death among women in the United States, accounting for almost 19 percent of all deaths in 2022. The most common type of cancer among women in the U.S. is by far breast cancer, followed by lung cancer, and colon and rectum cancer. It was estimated that in 2025 there would be almost 317 thousand new cases of breast cancer among U.S. women, compared to 116 thousand new cases of lung cancer. At that time there were approximately 4.3 million women in the United States with a history of breast cancer, while 945,540 had a history of uterine corpus cancer. However, despite being the second leading cause of death among women, death rates for many cancers have decreased over the past decade, likely due to early detection, improved treatment, and increased awareness of cancer risk factors.
