Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women. Over 44,000 women in the UK are diagnosed with breast cancer each year. One in nine women in the UK will develop breast cancer at some time in their life. However, it can usually be cured if it's found early.
Breast cancer almost never occurs in women in their teens or early twenties and it is rare in women under 35. As women get older, their risk of developing breast cancer increases. Eight out of ten breast cancers (80%) occur in women who have had the menopause (change of life).