Getty/Svittlana Kuchina(NEW YORK) — 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. Improving five-year survival ratesThere have also been improvements in five-year relative survival percentages for breast cancer patients. Breast cancer cases being caught before spreadRecent data show that female breast cancer cases are being caught at early stages, before the disease has metastasized. McGuinness said that screening for breast cancer has dramatically improved over the past four decades.