Of all the outputs of modern society, breast cancer is the most elusive. Once thought to be a disease of the rich, it is now a global epidemic. Breast cancer is on the rise in Europe and the United States, with the number of cases in the United Kingdom having risen by 80 percent since the 1970s and is expanding globally. Scientists say that increasing affluence and the “westernization” of traditional lifestyles are responsible for the increase in breast cancer. We often think of Western living as a fashion label, but how much of the science behind this fashion is not there? Experts say that rich diets, smaller families, delayed childbearing, reduced breastfeeding, and increased obesity and alcohol consumption have contributed to the rise of breast cancer in Western countries. This upward trend is now visible everywhere, and with it, an ever-increasing burden of malignant disease. Last year there were an estimated 1.3 million new cases of breast cancer worldwide. Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in the UK and Europe, although it affects almost exclusively one gender group. 2006 saw the incidence of breast cancer surpass that of lung cancer for the first time, which affects both male and female gender groups. Japan, Singapore and Korea – once known for their low incidence of breast cancer. The number of cases has doubled or tripled over the past 40 years. In China, the incidence statistics for breast cancer in the urban population have increased by 20-30% over the past 10 years. India has seen a similar increase, and in some parts of Africa the number of cases has increased exponentially. In Africa in particular, it is suspected that statistical refinement is one reason for the apparent rise in breast cancer. But scientists agree that the disease is spreading globally. However, scientists are divided on how to effectively curb breast cancer. Some say the best hope lies in the development of a preventive drug – consisting of multiple hormones that work like a vaccine to provide lifelong protection – a viewpoint that has been criticized as not being given enough attention. Others call for government measures to raise public awareness and urge the government to provide screening and early treatment services to give women the best chance of survival. A third school of thought emphasizes a public health strategy that focuses on the risks of alcohol consumption, obesity and lack of exercise. Peggy Porter of the Fred Hutchinson Research Center in Seattle, Washington, writes in a recent issue of the New England Journal of Medicine that the world must wake up to the growing threat. As more countries modernize, more women will join the ranks of sedentary professionals, delaying childbearing, using birth control, living longer, and eating more Westernized diets. Their chances of developing breast cancer will undoubtedly increase. It is important that women become aware of the risks and that their expectations of early detection and treatment by government and medical agencies increase as quickly as their chances of developing the disease. Professor Porter says the biggest obstacle to improving care for women is ignorance. “In 1974, Betty Ford (wife of U.S. President Gerald Ford) changed the world’s attitude when she freely admitted she had breast cancer. Women who had once viewed breast cancer as a death sentence and talked about it with horror became willing to talk about it, which led to more services and research in this area. Other countries need to follow this lead. Valerie Beral, director of the Cancer Research Unit in the Department of Epidemiology at Oxford University, says blaming Westernization of lifestyles misses the main cause – changes in fertility. ”There’s no need to blink when we know the main cause. Over the generations, Chinese families have transitioned from the six-member families of the past to families with only one child. Most women used to have six or seven children – which is also quite common and normal in the world. Each child is breastfed until the age of two to two and a half years, which also means that women stop ovulating and do not conceive during this time. Changes in hormones during childbirth and breastfeeding can provide a lifetime of protection.” ”We need to look at the essence of this hormonal protection and synthesize this hormone.” If we can find out why childbearing provides lifelong protection against developing breast cancer, we might be able to develop a drug that is synthesized from multiple hormones and have an 18-year-old woman use this hormone mixture for a year, which could have the same effect,” she said. But unfortunately this study was not given priority.” Peter Boyle, director of the Lyon International Cancer Institute, which will publish global breast cancer rates next month, said alcohol is the most worrisome predisposing factor for young women. “The rise in breast cancer is a big problem, and it’s rising very rapidly. There are places where the incidence was low 30 years ago, but now it’s increasing rapidly. In every region breast cancer is the most common and second most common cancer.” ”My concern is the increase in alcohol abuse, especially among young women. Every unit increase in daily alcohol consumption is associated with a 7 percent increase in the risk of breast cancer. Those young girls who hang out at bars on Friday nights are my biggest concern.” The main reason for the rise in incidence: The global rise in breast cancer is linked to the excessive use of estrogen, which is increasing because of changes in fertility and diet. Improved nutrition means girls are reaching puberty earlier and women are going through menopause later. One hundred years ago, the age of first menstruation for girls was 16 or 17, but now it is more likely to be 12 to 13 years. For every year of delayed menopause, the risk of breast cancer increases by 3 percent More women are going out to work, leading to later births, fewer births, and only a few women breastfeeding. for every year of delayed childbearing around age 25, the risk of breast cancer increases by 3 percent. The more children a woman has, the lower her risk of breast cancer, so this current trend of smaller families is increasing the risk of breast cancer for many women. The incidence of breast cancer varies widely around the world. The number of people diagnosed with breast cancer in Japan is 1 in 5 compared to the U.S. However, Japanese women who move to the U.S. are soon at the same risk as American women. Since the 1970s, the incidence of breast cancer has increased by 84% in the U.K. In 2005, a total of 38,212 women were diagnosed with breast cancer.