Dr. Martine Piccart, head of chemotherapy at the Institut Jules Bordet in Brussels, told the Second European Breast Cancer Conference that the involvement of patients in every aspect of their care had also been a crucial factor in breast cancer research. Just as AIDS patients politicized the disease and demanded and received a greater input in how they were treated, women with breast cancer have pushed for more funding and increased public awareness of the disease that affects more than 210,600 women in Europe each year. Piccart, the chair of the Brussels conference, said surgeons, chemotherapists, radiotherapists, nurses and psychologists were working together to provide the most effective treatment for women. Although scientists are still a long way from having effective treatments for every type of breast cancer, advances in medical research and technology are leading to more customized treatments. Up to 3,000 doctors, researchers and patient advocates are expected to attend the annual conference.
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in European women.
Greece has the lowest incidence of the disease in Europe and the Netherlands has the highest. Women living in northern European countries tend to have a higher rate of the disease than their southern neighbors. Differences in diet, age at puberty, first birth and menopause, childlessness and height and weight in the two regions are thought to be contributing factors to the varying rates of the illness. Copyright 2000 Reuters . All rights reserved.