Eiffel Tower turns pink for cancer

THE EIFFEL Tower has been lit up pink to mark the beginning of Octobre Rose the breast cancer awareness month.

Breast cancer is most common cancer among women in France. Latest figures published last year show 11,900 deaths from breast cancer in 2012.

While it is the most common killer among cancers, survival chances are much higher if it is spotted at an early stage.

Women aged between 50-74 are given reminders and a free mammography every two years as 75% of cases develop in women over the age of 50, however Octobre Rose seeks to remind younger women to do their own checks.

If done individually they can cost from €200-€300 but women under-50 should consult their GP or gynaecologist to get a prescription for a mammography and part of this cost will be paid for by the social security and – depending on the complementary health insurance – the rest by the mutuelle.

Each year 53,000 cases of breast cancer are diagnosed, and one in eight women is expected to develop the cancer at some point in their lives.

Survival rates for the cancer are high, even when all stages of discovery are mixed together. Cancer research UK says 86.6% of those diagnosed and treated are expected to live at least five years, 78.4% at least ten.

A special information village has been set up at the Trocadero centre across from the tower and will be open until October 1.

For more information visit www.cancerdusein.org

Photo: Flickr/Yann Caradec