Approximately every 3 minutes worldwide a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer and approximately every 12 minutes a woman dies of it. Breast cancer is the second most commen cancer in women and is the commonest cause of cancer related death in women aged 18-54. About 1.7 million women suffer worldwide. Approximately 1 woman in 8 will receive a diagnosis of breast cancer during her lifetime and 1 in 30 will die of the disease. Sadly, in women aged 45-50 it is the most common cause of death.

In the UK some 40,000 women are diagnosed each year. It is the most common form of cancer in females in the UK, giving rise to 12,800 deaths in 2000. Of 1.2 million British women aged over 45 screened with mammography in 2000/2001, 8,345 were found to have cancer and of these 6,588 were characterised as invasive.

The risk of surviving is still the same as it was 50 years ago. There is now evidence from recent reviews that mammography screening has not made any significant impact on death rates from breast cancer (especially if DCIS statistics are taken into account).

The key to surviving breast cancer is early detection and treatment which is why routine monthly breast self examination is repeatedly recommended to all women from age 20 but the reality is that a cancer is likely to have been growing 10 years before it is clinically palpable. There is no clinical or scientific evidence to suggest that self or clinical breast examination makes any significant difference to outcome. As women age their risk of breast cancer increases and 77% of women with breast cancer are over age 50. Whilst breast cancer is less common in the younger age group, they still represent about a quarter of all patients and it is significant that they tend to have more aggressive cancers.

Up till now recommendations (although these differ between organisations) are annual screening mammograms for all women from age 40 in conjunction with monthly self breast examinations and yearly clinical breast examination. In women aged 20 to 39 monthly self-breast examination and 3 yearly clinical breast exams are often recommended.