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The number of Canadian women dying from breast cancer is declining significantly, according to a report by the Canadian Cancer Society.

The study found the breast cancer death rate for Canadian females has dropped by 25 per cent since 1986.

Further the vast majority of women, 86 per cent, survive five years after a diagnosis.

"While these strides are good news, breast cancer continues to take a significant toll," Heather Logan, director of Cancer Control Policy at the Canadian Cancer Society said in the study.

"We chose to study breast cancer more intensely this year because it's the most common cancer among Canadian women, as well as globally. We must continue to make inroads against this devastating disease that affects so many women and their families."

The decrease in the death rate has been attributed to improvements in the screening of breast cancer and to the increased participation in breast screening programs by women aged 50-69, enabling earlier treatment of the disease.

"We know breast cancer screening works," said Paul Lapierre, group director of Public Affairs and Cancer Control with the Canadian Cancer Society. "Barriers to screening must continue to be identified and overcome. If more women are screened, more will survive."

Healthier lifestyles and perhaps fewer women using hormone therapy-linked to breast cancer also may be behind the declining death rates.

Breast cancer can be caused by a number of factors. Lifestyle factors such as obesity, physical inactivity and the consumption of alcohol have been determined to play a role. Additionally, heredity and reproductive/hormonal factors can also contribute to breast cancer development.

"We'd like to know about more things because those things, even taken all together, don't account for a huge proportion of breast cancers," Dr. Loraine Marrett, chair of the Statistics Steering Committee and an epidemiologist, told CTV.ca.

"Even if women were the most active they can be, with a healthy body weight and don't consume any alcohol, there would still be a lot of women getting breast cancer," said Marrett. "We need to do more research to find other factors to look at."

The report makes a number of recommendations to ensure progress against the spread of breast cancer:

• Identifying potential environmental and occupational factors that may contribute to breast cancer
• Increasing research to identify genetic factors so women at high risk can monitor their health more closely
• Employing more effective methods to screen women aged 50-69
• Developing and testing new treatments while using the best treatments currently available

While the rate of women dying of breast cancer in Canada is declining, it is estimated that more than 22,000 Canadian women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007 and that 5,300 will die from the disease.

Additionally, there are increasing numbers of women living with breast cancer. While one in every 100 Canadian women has been diagnosed with breast cancer within the last 15 years, the report indicates that women are surviving longer.

"Their chances of surviving longer and living a healthy life long after breast cancer (diagnosis) are better now than they have ever been," Marrett told CTV.ca.

Donna Sheehan, who was diagnosed four years ago with the disease, said coping with breast cancer and living in its shadow did more than change her physically.

"It changes who you are and what you're about. It's not just once the treatment ends," she told Â鶹ӰÊÓ. "There is no normal, it's a constant readjustment."

Sheehan now works at Willow Breast Cancer Support Canada -- an organization offering phone counselling and emotional support for breast cancer sufferers.

Cancer statistics

A new report by the Canadian Cancer Society, meanwhile, says cancer is on the rise in Canada.

According to the latest Canadian Cancer Statistics, in 2007, there will be an estimated 159,000 new cancer cases in Canada, with 72,700 deaths caused by the disease.

Despite the drop in breast cancer death rates, breast cancer remains the leading cause of cancer death for women, with 22,500 new cases in Canada. Meanwhile, prostate cancer remains the leading cause of cancer death for men, with 22,300 new cases.

With a report from CTV's medical specialist Avis Favaro and medical producer Elizabeth St. Philip