Breast cancer victims whose cancers are discovered early when they are small can expect to live as long as women who never get the disease. The latest figures from British researchers show that five years after diagnosis, those women who were treated when their cancers were at an early stage and responded well to treatment could expect a normal life span.
That is good news for women since 61 percent of breast cancers that are discovered through screening are small. Other criteria included the cancers be classified as low grade and not spread to the lymph nodes.
The odds have also improved for women who are diagnosed with invasive breast cancer – cancer that has spread outside the breast. In Great Britain, their 15-year survival rate has climbed to 86 percent.
“Huge strides have been made and more women than ever are surviving breast cancer,” said Professor Julietta Patnick, director of the National Health Service Breast Screening Programme. “Many of these have benefited from early detection through routine screening.
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