Now in its 27th year, Susan G. Komen for the Cure's Mission is to eradicate breast cancer as a life-threatening disease by advancing research, education, screening and treatment. Komen for the Cure is a grassroots network -- the world's largest -- of breast cancer survivors and activists fighting to save lives, empower people, ensure quality care for all and energize science to find the cures. Some significant contributions are:

• More early detection - nearly 75 percent of women over 40 years old now receive regular mammograms, the single most effective tool for detecting breast cancer early (in 1982, less than 30 percent received a clinical exam).
  
  
• More hope - the five-year survival rate for breast cancer, when caught early before it spreads beyond the breast, is now 98 percent (compared to 74 percent in 1982).
  
  
• More research - the federal government now devotes more than $900 million each year to breast cancer research, treatment and prevention (compared to $30 million in 1982).
  
  
• More survivors - America's 2.3 million breast cancers survivors, the largest group of cancer survivors in the U.S., are a living testament to the power of society and science to save lives.