BREAST cancer will affect one in ten women during their lifetime and is the commonest cause of death in women under 50 in the UK.

According to charity the Breast Cancer Campaign, each week 635 new cases of breast cancer are diagnosed and 263 women die every week as a result. But extensive research into the cause of the disease and new developments in treatments, along with increased support from campaigners, means that more women are fighting the disease -- and surviving.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and women are encouraged to buy pink ribbons to show they are aware of breast cancer and to support the on-going campaign to find a cure. JOANNE HAMPSON reports...

DENISE TATTERSALL (pictured) was just 28 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Two weeks later, on her son Alex's second birthday, she underwent a mastectomy, the surgical removal her breast.

Around 80 per cent of all breast cancers occur in post-menopausal women, but approximately 7,000 pre-menopausal women are diagnosed with the disease each year. Of them, 1,000 are between 35 and 39.

Denise lives with her son and her partner Adam in Aldwych Place, Brownhill, Blackburn. Alex will be three next month.

Denise first visited her GP when she was 26 after finding a lump in her breast. She was told the lump was fibrous and low risk, but when she noticed another lump 20 months on, her doctor took a different view. "I think because I was a low risk, he didn't refer me the first time," said Denise. "I don't blame my doctor, it's just one of those things. People always want someone to blame."

After the second examination Denise was told that the lump probably was cancerous and to prepare herself for the worst. A week later the results of the biopsy confirmed that she had advanced breast cancer. "That was the worst part of it, that first week," she said. "I originally went into the doctors thinking it was just a cyst. I had to go back a week later for the results of the biopsy but the doctor told me to expect bad news, so in a way I had a week to get used to the idea. I think it would have been a lot harder if it had just been out of the blue."

Two weeks later, surgeons removed a total of four tumours, the largest being 5cms long, along with the lymph gland from under Denise's arm. Following the operation she underwent six bi-monthly sessions of chemotherapy and is now almost at the end of a three-week course of radiotherapy.

"If I hadn't have had Alex I would have gone to pieces," she said. "But I couldn't let myself get down because it would have got him down.

"I was very ill with the chemotherapy and wanted to stop the treatment. Friends and family were looking after Alex and there were only two weeks in each month when I was well enough to look after him. Adam talked me into carrying on and I'm glad he did."

Denise says the support from family, friends, the breast cancer nurses and the support group at Beardwood Hospital has been "fantastic."

With the help of friends she recently raised £1,400 for the Breast Care Nurses fund in Blackburn, which is for patients rather than research. The group held a number of sponsored games and head shave at the Pump Handle pub in Blackburn. Denise's partner Adam was one of the five who had their heads shaved. She said: "There's a great support network but it's something you've got to come to terms with yourself. For me at the time I wasn't concerned about losing my breast, the only thing I was concerned about was staying alive. It is important to talk about your feelings. If you can't talk to your family, talk to a breast cancer nurse, or a support group, because there is always someone who understands you."

Denise is now waiting to reconstructive surgery to help re-build the breast tissue that was taken away.

She said: "I look on the positive side of life a lot more now. At the end of the day it doesn't matter if your hair is a mess or you've got bills to pay. You should feel lucky to wake up every morning and have your health and people around you that love you.

"Breast cancer is something that always happens to other people, so I'd never heard of anyone my age getting it. But since I was diagnosed I've met a lot other women and I've discovered that it's not that unusual.

"I would say to anyone who is concerned about breast cancer to get a second opinion because doctors do sometimes make mistakes."

Denise is hoping to return to work soon and is looking forward to a holiday with Adam.

She said: "Now I just take each day as it comes and don't worry about what might happen tomorrow. It might never happen."

The Blackburn Breast Care Support Group meet at Beardwood Hospital on the first Tuesday in every month. HOW TO CHECK YOUR BREASTS

1. Stand in front of a mirror with your hands at your sides and look carefully at the breasts. Check again with your hands on hips, pressing your shoulders and armpits forward. Finally clasp your hands behind your head and turn from side to side to check that both nipples move up and down about the same.

2. Raise your left arm and feel your left breast with the flat of your right hand. Starting from the outer top, press firmly enough to feel the tissue underneath and work in a circular motion. When you have completed the circle, move round one inch and repeat circling, until you have checked the whole breast including the nipple. Also check the area above the breast, especially the armpit. Repeat on the right side.

3. Lie with a pillow under your left shoulder and raise your left arm, placing it behind your head. Feel the entire breast in the circular motion described in step two and repeat on the right side. CHANGES TO LOOK OUT FOR

A lump or swelling in the breast, armpit or arm.

A new pain in the breast.

Any change in the shape or size of the breast or nipple.

Any changes to the position or colouring of the nipple.

Dimpling, denting, scaling or discoloration of the skin.

Feel for a distinct lump rather like a pea that is different from the breast's usual texture.

Discharge from one or both nipples.