Breast Cancer Deaths Reach Record Low

London - The number of UK woman who died from breast cancer has reached an all time low, even though cancer diagnoses are becoming more common. According to Cancer Research UK, 11,990 women died of breast cancer in 2007.

Records of breast cancer deaths have been kept since 1971. That year 12,472 women died of breast cancer. During the 70’s and 80’s the numbers rose, reaching more than 15,600 in 1989.

The number of patients diagnosed with cancer has grown dramatically over the last 25 years, because of changes in lifestyle. Obesity, binge drinking, waiting till late in life to have children, and hormone replacement therapy for menopause all make a women more susceptible to cancer.

However in the last two decades less and less women have actually died of breast cancer. Medical professionals credit new technology and greater awareness for the sharp decline in deaths. The sooner cancer is detected the more likely it is that a patient will survive the disease.

Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in the UK. About 45,800 people, both men and women, are diagnosed every year.