Half of women aged 70 and over can not name a breast cancer symptom other than a lump, despite one in three who are diagnosed with the disease being from that age group, a Public Health England survey has found.
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Fears are growing that low awareness of “non-lump” symptoms are putting women over 70 in the region at risk.
Professor Dame Sally Davies, chief medical officer, said: “You are never too old to get breast cancer”. 4 This year’s campaign will reinforce the message “don’t assume you’re past it”, urging older women to visit their doctor straight away if they notice any unusual or persistent changes to their breasts such as a lump or a change to the nipple, skin or shape of the breast.
Elderly women are at higher risk of having cancer due to late detection of early signs of breast cancer.
When breast cancer is diagnosed early on for women who are 70 or older, chances are that some 93% percent of them can expect to live for 5 years more in the least, but when diagnosis is done at an advanced stage, this percentage could drop dramatically to 13. “The statistics speak for themselves, one in three women who get breast cancer are over 70”, she said.
Research published in March showed that the UK’s five-year survival rate for breast cancer of 81% in 2009 was below those of Sweden, France and Italy 10 years previously.
Women aged under 50 and over 70 are not included in the national breast screening programme, but a trial is investigating the merits of extending screening to women aged 47-49 and 71-73.
This lack of knowledge about symptoms of breast cancer apart from the lump is enhancing health risk for older women – say experts.
“Most people are aware that a lump in the breast could be a symptom of cancer, but they don’t know that changes to the skin of the breast or the nipple could also be signs of cancer”.
‘I want to say to all women over 70, don’t assume you’re past it. If you notice any changes to your breasts, tell your doctor. “Other possible signs of breast cancer include nipple changes and changes to the skin of the breast”.
Breast cancer is also the most common cancer in women in England overall, with around 41,200 women diagnosed every year.
A third of those diagnosed with the disease – around 13,400 – are aged over 70 and every day it kills around 15 of those women.
In 2013, 257 women died of breast cancer in the North East.
Early diagnosis of breast cancer is crucial and means treatment is more likely to be successful.
Debashis Ghosh, Consultant Breast & Oncoplastic Surgeon, Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, said, “I’ve performed surgery on women over the age of 70 and always tell women that breast cancer is more treatable if found early”.
Hundreds of women across the North East are risking their lives by not knowing the correct symptoms of breast cancer.
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The nationwide Be Clear on Cancer “breast cancer in women over 70” campaign launches today Monday 13 July and will run for eight weeks.
