More Israeli Jewish women in danger of developing breast cancer: report

JERUSALEM- One in every 7.5 Israeli Jewish women are in danger of developing breast cancer, said a new report by the Israeli Disease Control Center published Monday.

The figure marks an increase from the previous number, one in every nine women. However, among Arab women, the figure stands on one in every 14 women.

The study, held in light of the breast cancer awareness month and the Israeli Cancer Association annual fundraiser to raise awareness, found that more women are inclined to develop the disease but fewer women die from it, mainly due to growing awareness of the importance of being diagnosed early on.

The higher rates were connected by improved programs for early detection of the diseased and an increasing amount of women being tested, as well as a growth in the life expectancy and of the amount of women who survive the disease.

In 2009, there were 4434 Israeli women diagnosed with different forms of breast cancer, which experts say could develop into other forms of cancer.

Israeli women between the ages of 50 and 74 are called upon to go through a mammography scan once every two years, as part of the subsidized health services.

Death rates, the report charged, have been falling in recent years and 938 women have died in 2009 from invasive forms of breast cancer.

According to the World Health Organization, breast cancer rates in Israel are the fifth highest in the Western world, 96.8 women per 100,000. In Belgium the figure are 109.2 to 100,000, in Denmark 99.7, France stands on 98.5 and Germany at 81.6.

Breast cancer among Jewish women begin rising from 1.42 per 1, 000 women aged 20 to 24 to 30.5 per 1,000 women aged 30-34. The risk doubles after that to 64.6 between 35 and 39 and stands on 142.4 women per 1,000 aged 40-44.

Source: Xinhuanet

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