Multidisciplinary care for women with breast cancer: a national demonstration program.

Breast cancer is the most common cause of cancer deaths among Australian women. In NSW in 1999, 3,463 women were newly diagnosed with breast cancer. The average lifetime risk of breast cancer is about one in 11 women. Each year, over 2,600 women in Australia die from the disease. It is estimated that it costs Australia $169.5 million to diagnose and treat the disease and there are considerable physical and emotional costs for the 10,000 women diagnosed each year and their families.