Absence of BreastCheck blamed for high mastectomy rate

MORE than half of women with breast cancer in the west are having to undergo a mastectomy, compared to one-fifth of women in Dublin who have the disease, new figures reveal.

Women in the west and the south of the country currently have no access to BreastCheck, the national breast screening service, expected to available in these regions in mid-2007.

Cancer specialists estimate that 65 women are dying each year in the west and south because their cancers are discovered too late.