According to new figures, there are fewer people dying from three of the most common types of cancers in Britain, as the numbers plummet to their lowest level in almost 40-years.
 
Despite, over 100,000 people being diagnosed with breast, bowel and male lung cancer, Cancer Research UK says, every year mortality rates fall for these forms of the disease.
 
Although, over 100,000-people develop tumours every year, new treatments and better screening means mortality rates for breast, bowel, and male lung cancer are at their lowest since 1971.
 
With 15,625-women dying, breast cancer deaths peaked in 1989, compared to 11,990 in 2007, a drop of 23%.  Claiming 19,598-lives, 1992 was the worst year for bowel cancer, compared to 16,007 deaths in 2007.
 
There were 30,391men who died of lung cancer in 1979, numbers that dropped to 19,637 in 2007, largely to the fact that more people were giving up smoking.
 
‘Survival rates have doubled in the last 30 years and the work of Cancer Research UK has been at the heart of that progress’, says Harpal Kumar, the charity’s chief executive.
 
Better screening and new treatments, including the development of drugs like Herceptin, have led to a reduction in cancer related deaths, while a drop in the number of smokers has contributed significantly in reducing male lung cancer deaths.
 
Responsible for vital discoveries, the charity’s scientists have given hope to thousands of women with a particular type of breast cancer with the discovery of life-saving drugs like Herceptin, as they seek to understand how cancer develops and find the best treatment for the disease.
 
Early work on aromatase inhibitors paved the way for a new standard of care for the most common type of breast cancer with Anastrozole, and launching a new TV advertising campaign on Sunday, the charity aims to improve awareness of the disease.