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On Wednesday, the BBC learned that over 10,000 women in Northern Ireland are waiting for breast screening in the Northern Health Board area, it has been revealed. The Southern Board has revealed 4,000 women have not got the required screening and in the Eastern Health Board area, a further 2,700 are awaiting appointments. Under a national programme, all women aged 50 to 64 should be offered breast screening every three years. However, most women in Northern Ireland are falling outside that time limit.
The news actually comes after a consultant radiologist, who worked at three local hospitals, was suspended following concerns over his clinical judgement. A review of former patients revealed that 17 women had with breast cancer were wrongly given the all-clear.
Since then, the Northern Board suspended its screening programme and it is not expected to resume again until August.

Dr Carolyn Harper of the Northern Health Board said: “In a typical year, around 55-60 women who attend for screening are diagnosed with cancer. “It is obviously unsatisfactory, from our point of view, that there is such a delay in diagnosing women.
“At the same time, we do want to be sure that the service that they do receive for screening is of high quality. Obviously the reason why it was suspended was because of concerns over the quality of the programme.”
There is currently no backlog in the Western Health Board area as Altnagelvin Hospital – which does all board tests – has few staffing difficulties. Altnagelvin Hospital is to help cut the number of women waiting for breast cancer tests by screening some from the Northern Health Board area.

In Massachusetts, approximately 4,680 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer, according to the American Cancer Society, and 900 women will die from the disease. Reach to Recovery is available to all women with breast cancer by calling the American Cancer Society at 1-800-ACS-2345 or visiting www.cancer.org. While it’s not an ongoing support group, it helps breast cancer patients meet emotional, physical, and cosmetic needs. The program is meant to complement a woman’s relationship with her doctor by helping to point out questions she should ask her physician, and providing additional non-medical information.

Meanwhile, The Kentucky Women’s Cancer Screening Program, a part of the Department for Public Health provides low-cost mammograms and Pap tests through local health departments. They want more women in Kentucky to receive these health screenings, specifically targeting women who are age 40 and older who have not had an exam for five years or more or who have never been screened.
According to DPH, approximately 60 percent of all women who die of cervical cancer have either never been screened or have not been screened in the past five years.
“In the fight to protect our health, women can’t afford to forgo yearly screenings that can detect breast and cervical cancer early on,” said KWSCP Recruitment Coordinator Brenda Combs. “This is the best weapon we have for successful treatment.”
Women who don’t have health insurance or can’t afford a screening should call 1-800-4CANCER to see if the Kentucky Women’s Cancer Program can be of assistance.

In Canada, a garage sale will be held tomorrow at Clemens Mill Public School to assist a group of seven teachers who will take part in The Weekend to End Breast Cancer. The 60-km walk takes place in Toronto in September and each walker is required to raise $2,000.
The garage sale will be held from 6:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Also featured will be a barbecue and face painting. Donations of garage sale items – with the exception of clothing – can be dropped off at the school, located at 335 Saginaw Pkwy.

For a woman facing breast cancer, talking the experience over with someone who’s been there not only helps answer questions, but also gives her a role model for recovery. The American Cancer Society’s Reach to Recovery program offers this opportunity to women by matching volunteer visitors who have experienced breast cancer with women dealing with the disease today.

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