More women over 30 are being diagnosed with breast cancer

More women aged 30 and older are developing breast cancer, while survival rates have also improved, ORF reports. A breast health centre at Ordensklinikum Linz, a hospital, is marking 20 years of diagnosing and treating the disease.

Since opening in February 2006, the centre has doubled its patient numbers and now diagnoses more than 400 new cases a year. Around 80 men have also been treated there over the past two decades.

Karina Cansiz was 33 and the mother of two young children when she noticed a change to the skin on her breast in 2018. A few weeks later, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

“There were so many thoughts, above all fear. Fear that it was over or that things would get difficult. I had no support for myself any more. It was very hard, a shock,” Cansiz said.

Her treatment plan included surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and immunotherapy. Centre head Ruth Helfgott said treatment is tailored to each patient because breast cancer has different types.

The Linz centre was Austria’s first certified breast cancer centre. It treats about one third of breast cancer patients in Upper Austria. Advances in radiological diagnosis and surgical techniques, regular meetings of multidisciplinary teams to develop treatment plans, and participation in clinical studies are among the centre’s recent developments.

Specialist breast care nurses support patients throughout treatment and answer their questions, nurse Brigitte Kurz said. The centre also involves relatives and offers psychological and complementary support.

About 7,000 women in Austria were diagnosed with breast cancer in 2024, including 1,000 in Upper Austria. Women aged 45 and older are invited to have a screening mammogram every two years. Around 40 per cent currently take part.