breast cancer now: fact sheet
Breast Cancer Now is determined to stop women dying from breast cancer. By discovering the causes of the disease, we’ll find ways to prevent it. By improving early detection and diagnosis, we’ll give everyone the best chance of survival. By developing effective new treatments for every type of breast cancer, we’ll make sure more women are treated successfully. And by learning to stop the disease in its tracks and control breast cancer that’s spread to other parts of the body, we’ll stop it taking lives.
risk in the uk
● One woman in eight will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime
PREVALENCE IN THE UK
● Nearly 700,000 people are thought to be living with or after a breast cancer diagnosis in the UK
• It has been estimated that around 35,000 women are living with secondary breast cancer in the UK. This means that their breast cancer has spread to other parts of the body where, unfortunately, it can no longer be cured.
INCIDENCE IN THE UK
Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the UK.
Those diagnosed with breast cancer in the UK:
• Every year: over 50,000 women and around 350 men
• Every day: around 139 people a day
• Age is the biggest risk factor, with 4 out of 5 cases (80%) diagnosed in women over 50
• Up to 15% of people with breast cancer have a family history, which is likely to have contributed to why they developed the disease.
• Around 5,000 women a year are diagnosed with Ductal Carcinoma In Situ (DCIS), a non invasive form of breast cancer
• Around 500 women a year are diagnosed with Lobular Carcinoma In Situ (LCIS), a non invasive form of breast cancer
MORTALITY IN THE UK
• Every year around 11,500 women and 80 men die from breast cancer – that’s nearly 1,000 deaths each month
• Breast cancer is the second biggest cause of death from cancer in women
• Breast cancer is the leading cause of death in women under 40 [the number of women dying from breast cancer under the age of 40 each year in the UK accounts for around 230 deaths out of the total of around 11,500]
SURVIVAL IN THE UK
• Five year survival rates for breast cancer have improved significantly over the last 20 years
• Around five out of six women (over 80%) diagnosed today will be alive in five years’ time
• 40 years ago, only around half of women survived for five years or more
england:
• around 42,000 women diagnosed each year
• nearly 10,000 women die each year
Scotland:
• around 4,600 women diagnosed per year
• around 1,000 women die each year
WALES:
• around 2,600 women diagnosed per year
• around 600 women die each year
Northern Ireland:
• around 1,300 women diagnosed per year
• around 300 women die each year
FUTURE PROJECTIONS FOR THE UK, IF WE DON’T ACT NOW
• By 2030, more than 57,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer every year
• By 2030, over 1.2 million women will be living with or after a breast cancer diagnosis
• By 2030, just over 11,000 women will die from breast cancer each year
• Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women in the Republic of Ireland
• Each year nearly 2,800 women and around 25 men are diagnosed with breast cancer in Ireland
• In 2011 nearly 700 people died from breast cancer in Ireland
Breast Cancer Now – breast cancer statistics, May 2016
