Breast cancer: an update for community nurses

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in the UK and 15% of all new cancer cases are breast cancer. Around 56,400 women are diagnosed with breast cancer annually. Almost half a million women, 491,300, are living with breast cancer.  The incidence of breast cancer rises with age and rates are highest in women aged 90 and over. Around 24% of newly diagnosed breast cancer occurs in women aged 75 and over.¹ Caucasian women are more likely to develop breast cancer than women of Asian, Black or mixed ethnicity.² 

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What is breast cancer

‘Breast cancer is a disease in which abnormal breast cells grow out of control and form tumours. If left unchecked, the tumours can spread throughout the body and become fatal’.³