MedWire News: The number of women who survive breast cancer has increased dramatically in recent decades, but breast cancer survivors still face a significantly reduced quality of life due to the side effects of treatment, say UK campaigners.

Pamela Goldberg, chief executive of the Breast Cancer Campaign, explained that earlier diagnosis, new and improved treatments and increased awareness of breast cancer symptoms means that the disease is now becoming a chronic but controllable condition, rather than a death sentence.

"The picture is completely different for women today than in the 1970's," said Ms Goldberg. "Thirty years ago only half of women with breast cancer survived for more than 5 years. Today that figure is around 80%."

But she added: "Some of these treatments like radiotherapy and chemotherapy have toxic and debilitating side effects which have a profound impact on their quality of life, every single day. This may partly explain why breast cancer still remains the biggest health fear for women."

Ms Goldberg explained that some of the problems faced by breast cancer survivors include severe fatigue, which can cause employment issues, a poor body-image resulting from breast surgery and early menopause leading to childlessness. These can all have a significant impact on a woman's psychological wellbeing, she said.

Speaking at the Breast Cancer Campaign's Scientific Conference in London, UK, Ms Goldberg said that research should not only focus on improving survival rates among women with breast cancer, but also on improving their quality of life.

She concluded: "The search for more effective and targeted therapies is constant but breast cancer research encompasses so much more than new treatments. While our mission is to beat breast cancer, we also aim to better understand the impact that breast cancer has on people's lives and how best to support them.

"If we co-ordinate our resources to target the priorities in breast cancer research, we can ensure an environment of scientific excellence with the best possible chance of change. It is now the responsibility of breast cancer researchers, not just in the UK but around the world, to fill the gaps we know exist. The future of medical research is in their hands along with our lives."