New research figures explain the growing rate of breast cancer

Cancer UK Research data showed that the rate of breast cancer in Britain is on the rise over the last 10 years. The cancer charity now expects one in every 8 women to develop the disease.

There is a 12.5 percent increase in the number of women diagnosed with breast cancer in almost a decade, beginning in 1999 with 42,400 recorded cases increasing to 47,700 breast cancer cases in 2008. The figures were based on the data from the Cancer UK Research and were released to commemorate World Cancer Day.

In 1999, 120 in every 100,000 British women were diagnosed with breast cancer and this figure increased to 124 in 2008.

British women aged between 50 and 69 are more likely to develop breast cancer as cases rose by 6 percent among women belonging in this age bracket. On the other hand, there is a 0.5 percent decline in breast cancer cases among British women aged between 25 and 49.

Some of the factors that experts say to have contributed to breast cancer are lifestyle factors that include drinking alcohol, obesity, and fall in birth rate.

On the bright side, on average, 70 percent of British women who suffer from breast cancer survive the disease and go on to live for more than 10 years on average.