Breast cancer is the most common cancer in the UK. Incidence is increasing but mortality is decreasing meaning people are surviving for longer with the disease. This will undoubtedly have an impact on health professionals working in a primary care setting. This article presents an overview of the diagnosis and current clinical management of women with primary breast cancer. It emphasizes that individualized patient care is based on many biological and pathological characteristics and is becoming increasingly the way forward in personalizing treatment for breast cancer.