THOUSANDS missed out on lifesaving mammograms after changes made to the breast cancer screening programme, new research suggests.
Before the pandemic, all women received a letter with a timed slot for their breast cancer screening appointment once they turned 50.
Thousands of women might have missed out on lifesaving breast cancer checks since the policy change, new research has shown
And they’d get second one with a new timed slot if they did not attend.
But a post-pandemic policy change meant women are no longer given timed appointments, meaning they have to call and book one themselves once they get a letter in the post.
New research found that the change has seen fewer women get lifesaving breast cancer checks.
A study on the new policy conducted by Queen Mary University of London and NHS England estimated that 12,000 women in London missed out on breast screening because of open invitations in just seven months.
Some 240,000 women in London were included in the research, which was published in the Journal of Medical Screening.
It found that only 53 per cent of women who received an open invitation turned up for a mammogram.
By comparison, 60 per cent of those who were given a timed appointment turned up for the screening.
Scaling up these findings to women in England suggests that around 100,000 women a year are skipping out on mammograms, and that 700 cases could be missed nationwide, according to the Mail.
The study’s senior investigator, Professor Stephen Duffy of the Wolfson Institute of Population Health, Queen Mary University, said that while NHS Breast Screening Programme staff have worked tirelessly to recover from a dip in uptake during the pandemic, it’s time to address ‘how best to increase the number of women being screened, not just invited’.
“One possible solution would be a return to timed appointments,” he said.
It comes after former’s Dragon’s Den star Kelly Hoppen revealed she she missed routine mammogram appointments for eight years running before her cancer was found.
Breast Cancer Now flagged that switching to an open invite system has ‘detrimentally impacted’ screening attendance and ‘made it harder for women to arrange and attend screening’.
Many women also told the charity they been unable to reach their local breast screening service to book an appointment or have been told no appointments are available, it added.
Professor Gareth Evans, a breast cancer screening expert from the University of Manchester, also urged NHS England to to go back to giving timed appointments to all women invited for mammograms.
“Health psychology shows that if people are asked to turn up for an appointment at a certain time, they are more likely to be there,” he explained.
“If they have to book their own appointment, there is every chance they won’t get around to it.”
Previous research by Queen Mary University suggested that issuing screening invitations at four-year intervals instead of three could boost uptake rates.
NHS England urged women to book breast screening appointments in February, after nearly four in 10 skipped out on the potentially lifesaving offer in 2022.
The health body sent out a record 3.17 million invitations, but only a ‘a slight increase’ in the number of women attending breast screening appointments compared to the previous year.
Around 55,000 women and 370 men are diagnosed with breast cancer every year in the UK.
Catching the disease early with screening boosts survival rates, with surgery followed by radiotherapy and chemotherapy able to get rid of the tumour.
However, if the cancer has already spread to other parts of the body — known as secondary breast cancer — there is no cure, although people can survive for years with treatment.
National figures on cancer survival in England show that 91 per cent of women diagnosed at an early stage of breast cancer, where the tumour is small, have a survival rate of at least five years.
The five-year survival rate for diagnosis at a late stage, where the cancer has spread to other parts of the body (stage 4), is 39 per cent.
If you’re 50 and over and registered with a GP, you’ll automatically get invited for a breast screening every three years until you turn 71, NHS guidance said.
If you’re trans or non-binary, you may need to may need to talk to your GP surgery or call the local breast screening service to ask for an appointment, it noted.
You should contact your local breast screening service if you’re 53 and haven’t received your letter invitation, or if more than three years have passed since your last screening.
You can still book even if you were invited weeks or months ago, the NHS added.
Am I at risk of breast cancer?
While it’s not understood what exactly causes breast cancer, there are certain factors that could increase your risk, such as:
- age – the risk increases as you get older
- a family history of breast cancer
- a previous diagnosis of breast cancer
- a previous non-cancerous (benign) breast lump
- being tall, overweight or obese
- drinking alcohol
Studies have also shown that taking contraceptive pills can up your risk of developing breast cancer by between 23 and 32 per cent.
Breast Cancer Now said everyone can take steps to lower their chances of getting breast cancer by making small healthy changes and living well now, including drinking less alcohol, maintaining a healthy weight and keeping physically active.
Most of us will know that one of the first noticeable symptoms of breast cancer is a lump or an area of thickened breast tissue.
But NHS noted that the disease can have several symptoms, including:
- changes in the size and shape of one or both your breasts
- discharge from your nipples – this may be streaked with blood
- a lump or swelling in either of your armpits
- puckering or dimpling on the skin of your breasts
- a rash (like eczema) on or around your nipple
- a change in the appearance of your nipple, such as becoming sunken into your breast
You should see a GP if you have any of these symptoms, NHS guidance stated.
It noted that most breast lumps are not cancerous and that breast pain on its own isn’t usually a sign of the disease.
There’s a good chance of recovery if breast cancer is detected at an early stage, so it’s vital to check your breasts regularly and have any changes examined by a doctor.
