CO-OPERATING for Cancer
Care NorthWest, CCC(NW) will this morning meet
officials from BreastCheck and the Department of
Health and Children in Dublin. The purpose of the
meeting is to discuss the delays in the roll-out of
BreastCheck to Donegal and the North West.
CCC(NW) spokesperson Noelle Duddy said BreastCheck
had not, to date, given a definitive date for the
roll-out of BreastCheck to the North West including
Donegal.
"Women from this region continue to feel very
anxious about this. They are frightened rather than
relieved when they hear about the success of
BreastCheck in screened areas.
"Why? because they are not part of this success
story, they are not getting access to this
potentially life-saving screening service," said Ms
Duddy.
The CCC(NW) delegation in Dublin today will be Jim
O'Donnell, George Friel, John Day and Ms Duddy, They
will meet at the offices of the National Cancer
Screening Services (NCSS) at 11am with Tony O’Brien,
ceo, NCSS; Sheila Caulfield, communications at NCSS
and officials from the Department of Health and
Children.
Ms Duddy added: “Women living in areas screened by
BreastCheck are having their cancers diagnosed and
treated before they are even aware that their lives
are endangered - they have no symptoms. On the
other-hand, Donegal/NW women, because they are not
getting screened, are left to wait until they
develop breast symptoms. Then they are referred by
their GPs to Letterkenny General Hospital’s
symptomatic breast services.
"By this time they are often very stressed and
distressed and may have developed more advanced
breast cancers that require more radical treatments.
This is absolutely not acceptable to women or to the
breast cancer team treating them," added Ms Duddy.
CCC(NW) said if the NCSS is unable to give a
definitive date, next year, for the roll-out of
BreastCheck in Donegal and the North West region,
the group will demand a "clear statement" advising
non-symptomatic women between the ages of 50-64
years what action they should or should not take
regarding their breast health.
They will also demand similar advice on what
remedial action will be taken by the NCSS or the
National Cancer Control Programme to protect women's
breast health in the absence of such a date being
given. |
