4,000 women waiting two years for mammogram

MORE than 4,000 women are waiting up to two years for a mammogram that can detect breast cancer up to a year-and-a-half before there are any symptoms of the disease.

Labour TD Kathleen Lynch said she was shocked to learn that 4,183 women in Cork were waiting for mammograms in the South Infirmary-Victoria University Hospital in Cork and that some of the women referred to the hospital’s breast clinic would have to wait up to two years before they got an appointment.

“While cases of obvious malignancy will be prioritised, any woman who suspects there is a distortion in their breast, following consultation with their GP and subsequent referral to a specialist, could have to face the worry and anxiety of not knowing what is wrong for two years,” she said.