Breast Screening Saves Lives
Further to my post that I am going to be doing some work with BreastHealth UK, only yesterday, the media ran a story quoting cancer specialists from The London Breast Institute. Their research has shown that 1,000 lives would be saved if women were offered annual mammograms from the age of 40 rather than 50 which is the current entry age for the NHS breast screening programme.
Only 2% of the 7,000 women in their 40s diagnosed with breast cancer every year were identified through screening. Of these 7,000, it is likely that 3,000 will die of the disease.
Dr Nick Perry, director of The London Breast Institute commented, ‘Regular screening is already proven to lower the chance of women dying from breast cancer. The results of our study support the importance of regular screening in the under-50 age group and confirm that annual mammography improves the chances of breast conservation should breast cancer develop.’