Expert: Breast cancer survival not enough

LONDON, May 14 (UPI) -- Eighty percent of women with breast cancer survive after five years, but survivors face a host of other problems, the head of a London charity said.

Pamela Goldberg, chief executive of the Breast Cancer Campaign, said life is completely different for breast cancer survivors today than in the 1970s.

"Thirty years ago only half of women with breast cancer survived for more than five years. Today that figure is around 80 percent," Goldberg told the Breast Cancer Campaign Scientific Conference in London.

"However, 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."

Fatigue, body image and early menopause leading to childlessness are just some of the problems faced by breast cancer survivors that can have a real impact on their psychological well-being -- in some cases fatigue is so severe that giving up work can seem the only option -- Goldberg said.

"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," Goldberg said.