Walk for Breast Cancer 2013: 8 Facts You Need to Know About Breast Cancer

This weekend, Avon's 'Walk for Breast Cancer' is taking place in New York City. The 'Avon Walk for Breast Cancer' is a nation-wide series of events which raises funds and awareness for the fight against breast cancer. The event the largest network fighting breast cancer in America. The walk event began yesterday at Pier 84: at sunrise, the Opening Ceremony ignited this remarkable event. The Saturday Route took participants through Chelsea, the Upper West Side, Greenwich Village, Soho and then across the Brooklyn Bridge into DUMBO before heading back into Manhattan and up to the Wellness Village on Randall's Island. Today's route takes participants back across the city, around Central Park and back down the West Side of the Park to return to Pier 84 for the Closing Ceremony at 2.30 pm.

Avon Walk for Breast Cancer is the largest event of its kind in America. The walk will take place in Boston, Charlotte, Houston, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Washigton DC and Chicago over the next 12 months. Donations as small as $25 can make a difference to the cause which provides meaningful research and treatment. You can also participate in the cause as a Volunteer: Avon Walk requires volunteers for help with outreach, recruitment, and organizing in the weeks leading up to events around the country. They also encourage volunteers to work shifts during walk weekends. Events like New York's 'Avon Walk for Breast Cancer' are vital for raising the funds necessary to end this epidemic, as well as providing solidarity and support for patients and survivors. Breast cancer is one of the biggest issues facing American women right now: here are the 8 Facts You Need To Know About Breast Cancer in America.

1. Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in the United States, other than skin cancer.

2. It is the second leading cause of cancer death in women, after lung cancer.

3. American women have a 1 in 8 chance of developing breast cancer in their lifetime.

4. The chance of dying of breast cancer is 1 in 36.

5. There are 2.9 million breast cancer survivors in America right now.

6. Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed disease among Hispanic women.

7. The rate of death from breast cancer has decreased by 2.4% annually since 1994.

8. In 2013, about 232,340 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in women.