The short answer to this is, yes. Many women are cured of their breast cancers - but unfortunately others are not.

There are two very important things which affect the chance of having a cure: how 'advanced' the breast cancer is when it is discovered, and how well it responds to treatment.

A breast cancer that is diagnosed when it is small and has not spread to the lymph nodes will always have a better chance of a cure than one that is only discovered when it is more advanced. Advanced cancers tend to be larger in size, have spread to the lymph nodes under the arm and possibly other parts of the body.

Another important thing to mention is that the results of treatment for breast cancer are improving all the time. Recent figures have shown that since the 1970's the number of deaths from breast cancer has been reduced by between a quarter to a third.