Soap actress Wendy Richard has died aged 65 from breast cancer, after managing to fight off the aggressive disease twice before it returned - in a deadly fatal form.
Richards was first diagnosed with breast cancer in the 1990s, but with treatment she was able to fight it.
Then a second blow came when the tumour came back in 2002, but again she overcame the disease.
She was healthy again and emerged into remission after two bouts of the aggressive cancer. However, devastatingly the cancer came back a third time - in January 2008 - this time she was told that a tumour had formed in the lymph nodes of her left armpit.
Doctors did what they could but the cancer spread to her kidneys and bones and by October Richard revealed to the world that she was dying.
Sadly, breast cancer has now become the most common form of the disease in the UK with a shocking 125 women every day being given the heartbreaking news they have it.
The figures are grim, totaling 45,000 women each year diagnosed with the disease with a further 300 men who also get it.
Surgery is the main component of treatment for dealing with breast cancer. This could either be a lumpectomy (an operation where the cancerous lump and surrounding tissue is removed) or a mastectomy (the removal of the entire breast).
In the majority of breast cancer operations, doctors take extra precaution by removing lymph nodes from the armpit in order to identify whether the cancerous cells have spread.
It is also common for women to maximise the possibility of killing all the cancerous cells by having radiotherapy treatment shortly after have a lumpectomy.
Chemotherapy is also used on some women before or after surgery and is often used if the cancer comes back.
Cancerous cells in the breast area thrive off the female hormone oestrogen, which excels the rate of growth. Therefor it is also possible to prescribe drugs which help to diminish oestrogen levels in the blood in order to slow down the growth process.
Some research suggests breast cancer is a hereditary disease, being common in more than one family member, but for some women the exact cause is unknown.
However, research has also proved that preventative measures include eating a balanced and healthy diet as well as taking regular exercise.
The World Cancer Research Fund has released a report today, which shows that in 42 per cent of breast cancer cases (approximately 19,100 cases each year), drinking alcohol moderately, exercising regularly and maintaining a healthy weight could have prevented the development of the disease.
Between 2001 and 2003, the five year survival rate for women with breast cancer in England and Wales recorded to be 80 per cent.
In comparison, the rate was just 52 per cent for women diagnosed between 1971 and 1975.
Unfortunately, by the time Richard found out the cancer had spread to other organs, her survival chances would have been significantly lower.
