THE number of women dying from breast cancer has fallen to its lowest level in almost 40 years, figures showed last night.
Obesity, heavier drinking and women having children later in life have contributed to the steep rise in cancer cases – of more than 50% – over the last 25 years.
An increasingly ageing population and the fact that HRT has been linked to breast cancer have also led to a rise in the number of women diagnosed with the disease.
But the latest figures analysed by Cancer Research UK show that the number of women dying from breast cancer has fallen to its lowest level since records began.
In 2007, 11,990 women in the UK died from breast cancer. In 1971 12,472 women died from the disease.
From 1971 onwards, the number of women dying from breast cancer rose steadily, reaching a peak of 15,625 in 1989.
Since then, breast cancer death rates have fallen by a third - from 41.6 women per 100,000 in 1989 to 26.7 women in 2007.
