When Australian pop star Kylie Minogue was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005, there was a sudden surge in the number of young women requesting breast cancer screening. Minogue's breast cancer diagnosis at the age of 37 raised concern among a younger population of women that breast cancer is a diagnosis that could potentially happen to them. Knowledge is power and education saves lives. The increase in breast cancer awareness became known as the Kylie Effect.

However, the awareness that younger women can develop breast cancer has led some women to age-related conclusions about breast cancer that are not true, and this is also being referred to as the Kylie Effect. According to a recent survey of 2,289 women conducted by Cancer Research UK, 77 percent of the survey participants said that breast cancer risk was higher for women under the age of 70, and 33 percent said that women under the age of 50 were most at risk. The fact is cancer risk increases with age, and four out of five women diagnosed with breast cancer are over the age of 50.

"Celebrities with breast cancer like Kylie Minogue and Caron Keating have attracted a lot of publicity -- especially in magazines aimed at younger women. This is very beneficial in that it raises awareness of breast cancer. But the down side is that it may also set up a chain of panic among young women, while misleading older women to think that ageing is not a relevant factor in breast cancer," stated Dr Lesley Walker of Cancer Research UK.

For a retrospective of Kylie Minogue's breast cancer journey:

• Kylie Minogue: voted favorite traveling companion of men.
• Kylie Minogue: world exclusive interview with Sky One.
• Kylie Minogue loses close friend and personal chauffeur to cancer.
• Kylie Minogue: back on stage as a breast cancer survivor.
• Kylie Minogue: laughter is the best medicine for cancer cure.
• Dannii Minogue: sings under pressure about sister Kylie.
• Kylie Minogue breast cancer survivor glows in health.
• Kylie Minogue: cancer survivor writes children's book.
• Kylie Minogue joins women in fight for Herceptin.
• Kylie Minogue in breast cancer remission.

What should younger women do to be breast cancer smart? Do a monthly self exam and if they notice any abnormalities or lumps, insist that tests be done to rule out breast cancer. Realize that while any woman at any age can get breast cancer, the chances increase with age and 80 percent of breast cancer diagnosis happen for women 50 years and older.

In 1997, Caron Keating, television and radio news correspondent, was diagnosed with breast cancer. In the seven years she struggled with cancer, she came to feel that cancer was not a disease any of us can afford to ignore. Keating observed that cancer has touched most people in the UK, through the personal experience of being diagnosed with cancer, or by the experiences of friends, colleagues and family whose lives have been touched by cancer.  After her death in 2004, the Caron Keating Foundation was founded by Gloria Hunniford, Paul & Michael Keating and Russ Lindsay, in honor of Caron Keating. Caron Keating was 41.

According to the Caron Keating Foundation, over 750 people in the UK are told they have some form of cancer everyday, and if the current trend continues there will be more than five million more people diagnosed between now and 2020. The Caron Keating Foundation offers financial support to professional caregivers, complimentary healing practitioners and support groups dealing with cancer patients, as well as individuals and families who are affected by the disease. It will also financially help a number of cancer charities with their ongoing quest for prevention, early detection and cancer cure.