Every 8th woman falls ill

Death of TV icon: this is how dangerous breast cancer is

At the beginning of the year, German model Tatjana Patitz died of breast cancer at the age of just 56. Now US series star Andrea Evans has also lost her battle against a malignant tumor in her breast at the age of 66. Many women in Austria are also affected. What factors increase the risk of the disease and what role genes play.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), over two million women worldwide were diagnosed with breast cancer in 2020. In Germany, too, this type of tumor is the most common cancer in women, with around 5600 new cases every year. It is fatal for around 1600 women - despite the fact that treatments have improved enormously in recent years and, according to experts, the chances of recovery are 70 to 80 percent. Some factors and decisions we make in our lives can influence not only the development, but also the progression and impact of cancer.