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Everyone knows a stat about breast cancer, but is your knowledge fact or simply fiction? It can be rather mind-boggling with so much information out there. However, for a disease that affects more than 44,600 women a year, it’s important to know what’s right and wrong. We’ve picked out some key facts and statistics below. You’ll see that we’ve also set the story straight on a few of the myths linked to breast cancer.

THE FACTS

1: The biggest risk factor, after gender, is age: The older you are, the higher the risk; 80 per cent of breast cancer cases occur in women over the age of 50.

2: More people are being diagnosed with breast cancer, but survival rates are improving: This is probably due to improved treatment and earlier detection through increased breast awareness and the NHS screening service.

3: Breast cancer also affects men: It is rare, with around 300 men diagnosed each year.

THE STATS

1: Around 46,000 people are diagnosed with breast cancer each year – that’s one person every 12 minutes.

2: It is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women under 35, with more than 1,500 women aged 35-39 diagnosed annually.

3: Approximately 12,400 people die from breast cancer in the UK every year.

4: Breast cancer is the second biggest cause of death for women in the UK (lung cancer is the biggest).

THE FICTION

1: Breast cancer is mainly a hereditary disease: It can run in families, but fewer than ten per cent of cases are as a result of family history.

2: Pregnancy increases the risk of breast cancer: Wrong. In fact, the more children a woman has the lower her risk of getting breast cancer.

3: Deodorants cause breast cancer: There is no hard evidence to prove or disprove this myth, which has caused unnecessary distress for a lot of women.

For more details on symptoms, research and fundraising visit www.breastcancercare.org.uk