WOMEN AND CANCER No one likes to think about cancer, but there’s no getting away from it – half of us in the UK will develop cancer at some point in our lives. It’s not all bad news. Cancer may be more common – but more people are surviving cancer than ever before. Take breast cancer for example: survival rates have doubled in the UK in the last 40 years. Cancer Research UK says that more than four out of 10 cases of cancer can be prevented by making the kind of lifestyle changes this booklet suggests. But women also need to be vigilant – and not only for signs of the cancers that we associate with being female. Lung cancer is still the biggest ladykiller, followed by breast cancer. Third comes bowel cancer, responsible for one in 10 of all female cancer deaths. That sounds scary. But the sooner cancer is diagnosed, the easier it is to treat – and the more likely treatment will be successful. So accept invitations for ‘smear’ tests and mammograms to screen for
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