Why is it important to find out and inform regarding breast cancer statistics? We must point out these grim statistics to understand how effective education in preventing this disease is. Getting thoroughly informed is essential for an early diagnosis and for choosing the right treatment for your type of cancer. It is true that some statistics are in your favor and some might discourage you, but it is still vitally important for making the right decision to get informed and know about them.



Statistics show that in Europe a new case of breast cancer is diagnosed every 2.5 minutes. In many countries, only 5% of women with breast cancer have been diagnosed in time, which means that chances of survival can be reduced dramatically. In the UK, the number of deaths caused by breast cancer was approximated at 12,470 deaths.



Since then the number of deaths due to breast cancer in women has been increasing from year to year until it reached its peak of 15,600 in 1989. These are absolute numbers, but more important is the evolution of death rates from breast cancer: from 41.6 to 100,000 women in 1989 and 26.7 in 2007. The main reasons for the favorable evolution after 1989 are the methods of treatment and diagnosis. The fast paced evolution of technology and medicine introduced new methods and treatment options.

It is safe to state breast cancer now is diagnosed more quickly, it is significantly more easily treated, and thus the death rate is lower. It is proven that all those who have had breast cancer still have a high risk of relapse of disease after five years of regular therapy. According to a study published in the Journal of The National Cancer Institute (NCI) after five years of full treatment without recurrence of breast cancer, 89% of women belonging to a group of 2838 patients treated during 1985-2001 shown no symptoms of relapse of the disease.

In the same group, 80% of women had also shown no signs of recurrence of breast cancer after one therapy over ten years, explained a professor specialized in breast cancer. After five years of treatment, the risk of breast cancer is around 7% for women who were detected early, approximately 11% if the tumor is in the second stage and 13% in the third stage, according to experts' estimations. It should also be taken into consideration the tumor type and the fact that using substitute hormonal treatment at menopause and genetic predispositions increase the risks of breast cancer significantly, emphasizes the study's authors.

If postmenopausal women have options for cancer preventing cancer recurrence, such as tamoxifen, for women at menopause that are not any similar treatment. Researchers need to develop new strategies to significantly reduce the risk of recurrence of breast cancer for women who undergo a period of five years, thus increasing the health of the population.



Women treated with chemotherapy, hormonal therapy or a combination of both types of treatments, have a lower risk of relapse of disease, although there might be side effects of choosing more treatments. So when reading or finding in a magazine something about breast cancer statistics you should ask yourselves about when did you last auto-examined your breasts? When did you have your last gynecological examination?