Prevent Breast Cancer is the only UK charity funding ground-breaking research solely aimed at preventing breast cancer for future generations.
Predict. Prevent. Protect. You could call it our mantra. As the only UK charity entirely dedicated to the prediction and prevention of breast cancer, we’re committed to freeing the world from the disease altogether. Unlike many cancer charities, we’re focused on preventing, rather than curing. Promoting early diagnosis, screening and lifestyle changes, we believe we can stop the problem before it starts. And being situated at the only breast cancer prevention centre in the UK, we’re right at the front-line in the fight against the disease.
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in the UK. At Prevent Breast Cancer, we’re passionate about stopping the disease before it starts. We promote healthier lifestyles and early diagnosis. We also collaborate with others to influence change in breast cancer services. We work closely with The Manchester Breast Centre to collaborate with the best experts in the field. And by being based at the UK’s only breast cancer prevention centre, The Nightingale Centre, we are at the forefront of preventative research.
Breast cancer is a devastating disease that affects too many people – the patients, their families, friends and colleagues. It is a disease that can often be cured if caught early and suitable treatments are prescribed. But what if there was no need for the cure? There was no diagnosis, no before or after breast cancer. What if people could live their lives safe in the knowledge that it would never happen to them.
Every year, in the UK, 55,000 individuals are diagnosed – 150 people a day. And every year, we lose 11,400 to this disease. That is 11,400 too many. In fact, it is 55,000 too many. If we could prevent breast cancer tomorrow, by 2027, over 550,000 would never receive a diagnosis.
Our Vision
To prevent breast cancer for future generations through preventative testing, screening, lifestyle changes and drugs where needed.
The Need
- Breast cancer is the most common cancer in the UK, despite it being a rare disease in men.
- 1 in 9 women and 1 in 1000 men in the UK will develop the disease in their lifetime.
- Across the UK, 55,000 people annually are diagnosed with breast cancer.
- Tragically 11,400 women do not survive, though survival rates are increasing.
- In the last ten years, female incidence rates have increased by 3.6%.
- In the UK breast cancer rates have increased by 57% in the last 30 years.
- It is predicted that in the UK there will be 57,000 new cases per annum by 2024, an increase of 7% in 8 years.
- Currently only 3% of all cancer research funding is spent on prevention.
We seed-fund medical research projects into the prediction and prevention of breast cancer – without our original funding these research projects would not happen. Furthermore once the projects have been undertaken, they can often support large grant applications to organisations such as The National Institute of Health Research.
Our Specific Aims
- To predict which women are most susceptible to breast cancer.
- To diagnose the disease early through better and earlier detection methods.
- To research and develop preventative measures for the disease.
- To increase the uptake of breast screening in minority ethnic groups.
Our Objectives
- To identify women as high, medium or low risk through gene, lifestyle and breast density testing.
- To undertake further research into high risk genes and gene fragments (SNPs).
- To offer diet and lifestyle interventions to those deemed high-risk.
- To increase the frequency of screening for high-risk women.
- To improve diagnosis and treatment of pre-cancer changes.
- To develop preventative drugs for appropriate patients.
- To provide more accurate breast screening tools.
- To raise awareness of the disease in minority ethnic communities.
We may be 20 years young, but the fight against breast cancer is still the driving force behind our vision. As we evolve into Prevent Breast Cancer, we can’t wait to see what the next 20 years brings, but together, we will make breast cancer a preventable disease for future generations.
That is our aim. That is our name. Prevent Breast Cancer.
We Predict
We Prevent
We Protect
The promise is in our name
PREVENT BREAST CANCER – PROTECTING FUTURE GENERATIONS
For more information about our charity “Prevent Breast Cancer” please CLICK HERE
What is Breast Cancer?
We are always trying to make breast cancer awareness something that everyone thinks about from those at school to those who are retired!
Our research now shows that breast cancer is not random and that women who develop the disease are genetically predisposed.This combined with their lifestyle, environmental and hormonal factors can trigger breast cancer.
PREDICTION
Before we can PREVENT breast cancer we need to PREDICT which women are genetically predisposed and are more likely to develop the disease in the future unless someone intervenes. By predicting and targeting these high risk women, the main focus can be to prevent them from developing breast cancer.
Current studies Prevent Breast Cancer is funding (or part-funding) into PREDICTION are:
- Predicting the Risk of Cancer at Screening (PROCAS 2)
- Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs 2)
PREVENTION
Once we know which women are at a high risk of breast cancer, we can offer a number of strategies to reduce risk or even prevent the disease.
These strategies include: –
- Regular screening for which we require improved technologies (over conventional mammography and MR scanning).
- Lowering of lifestyle risk by interventions that are acceptable and effective; such as dietary, exercise and hormone based interventions.
- “Switching off” genetic factors – through research into drugs, vaccines and antibodies, which interfere with biological pathways.
Current studies Prevent Breast Cancer is funding or part-funding into PREVENTION are:
- Family History Tomosynthesis (FHTomo) – Screening
- A number of Diet and Lifestyle Studies under the supervision of Dr. Michelle Harvie
In many ways we are at a unique moment in history as a result of 21st century genetic technological advances, which have opened the door to understanding how breast cancer might be PREDICTED AND PREVENTED.
Our overall purpose is to be able to predict within a group of 9 women which of them are the 1 or 2 who are most likely to develop breast cancer in the future and to intervene so their risk is decreased.
Chris and Gabs World Cycling Tour 