Will it be the 40-year-old mother of two or the 50year-old childless lady? Or will it be the lovely grandmother chatting with her husband? According to Dr. Sue McGladdery of the American Clinic in Hungary, all of those friends are at risk.

Typically three-fourths of the cases of breast cancer occur in women ages 50 or older but a significant number of younger women are also affected and about one per cent of cases occur in men. Dr. McGladdery says, "More women are getting breast cancer, but no one yet knows why. Some of the increase can be traced to better ways of recognising cancer and detecting cancer in an early stage. The increase may also be the result of changes in the way we live; postponing childbirth, taking replacement hormones and contraceptives, eating high-fat foods or drinking more alcohol."

According to the Medical and Health Advice section of www.homeworkersexpats.com, since 1980 breast cancer rates worldwide have increased by 26 per cent. In Japan, the incidence of breast cancer doubled between 1960 and the 1980s - although it remains lower than for the US, Western Europe, Australia and New Zealand, and North Africa. The discovery of a "breast cancer gene" does not explain these increasing risks of developing breast cancer; only around five to 10 per cent of cases of breast cancer are genetic in origin. The rising statistics are a product of the increasing wealth of the world - as a country develops, the incidence of breast cancer there rises, according to the site.

If higher breast cancer rates are an unfortunate by-product of development, then the emphasis should be on prevention in developing countries. The International Women's Club (IWC) of Sofia is tackling this issue in Bulgaria. This month they begin "The Breast Awareness Campaign 2003" with an exhaustive list of education and prevention events.

According to the IWC, the focus of their campaign is to "raise awareness of the dangers of the disease and the need to catch it as early as possible. Also, we want to raise funds towards a mobile mammography unit for rural regions of Bulgaria, since provision of breast checks and cancer detection outside the large cities in Bulgaria ranges from poor to non-existent."

The IWC hopes to augment the good work already done by Bulgarian breast cancer survivors. JOZTS is a cancer support group for Bulgarian women and they have been involved on a national level with activities to help survivors.

You may notice more women wearing pink ribbons this month. The ribbon symbolises awareness of and hope for women affected by the disease. Support all women worldwide by educating yourself and your friends about this dreaded disease.