Breast cancer is the most common cancer among Malaysian women from all ethnicities and it is also the most common cause of cancer death among

women in Malaysia. The disease accounts for 30.4% of newly diagnosed cancer cases in Malaysian women. The incidence continues to rise as confirmed by the latest report of the Malaysian National Cancer Registry (Lim, Halimah, & Lim, 2003). Breast cancer incidence for 2002 is 4,337, compared to 3,825 for the year 2000. The actual number of women infected by the disease could be higher than the official figures as many women fail to seek treatment for various reasons.

In many developed nations the disease is prevalent among older women, but in Malaysia, the first and latest survey reveals that 52.3 percent of the cases of breast cancer involve women below 50 years of age. Over one third of the cases are in the pre-menopausal group. The disease strikes at the time when most working women are still raising children and establishing themselves in a career. In addition, the type of cancers that are found in this age group are often more difficult to treat.

Although, official rates of breast cancer mortality are not known, the number of deaths reported by a study released in the year 2001 is cause for alarm. According to the report, in the year 2000 deaths from the disease totaled 1,707; that is, close to 45 % of the cases result in death. The actual figure may be hi

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