Breast Cancer will soon lose its image of a Killer Disease. Instead it will become a long term manageable condition or a disorder like diabetes or arthritis, said the experts yesterday in London.
This would mean women living with the disease, but not necessarily dying from it. The survival rate among breast cancer patients has increased due to the significant developments in the diagnosis and treatment of the disease. It was revealed at the conference that the recurrence of the cancer was reduced by new drugs like Herceptin.
Treatment for breast cancer has significantly improved in the last one decade. Better targeted radiotherapy and improved cosmetic surgery techniques are also improving women’s care.
Pamela Goldberg, chief executive of the Breast Cancer Campaign, said, “Women now had a much better chance of surviving breast cancer. “As well as drugs like Herceptin and aromatase inhibitors such as anastrozole and letrozole, patients can also benefit from better cosmetic results which can have a significant psychological impact.
“While a cure for everyone may still be out of our reach, a move towards breast cancer being a lifelong manageable condition could be round the corner,” Ms Goldberg said.
As a result of current treatment, 80 per cent of the 41,000 women diagnosed each year in the UK will be alive in five years – up from 57 per cent 20 years ago, the conference heard.
Professor John Toy, medical director of Cancer Research UK, said: “New methods of prevention, screening and diagnosis, and new generations of targeted and tailored drugs and treatments, could hugely improve cancer survival rates in the next decade and beyond.
“The majority of women treated for early breast cancer already have an excellent outlook, but efforts to achieve yet better outcomes must continue.”
Dr Alexis Willett, from Breakthrough Breast Cancer, added: “Breast cancer is a complex disease but progress is being made all the time in understanding it. This is resulting in real differences for patients.”
