Breast cancer may hit one in 12 women

ONE in 12 women are at risk of developing breast cancer - a statistic that underlines the importance of Breast Cancer Awareness Month that begins today.

Cases of breast cancer are at an all time high. Latest statistics from the National Cancer Registry shows there were 1,890 new cases of breast cancer in Ireland in 2000, compared to 1,752 in 1999.

Breast cancer has overtaken both lung and bowel cancer to become the second most common cancer in Ireland after non-melanoma skin cancer.