Mandatory triple tests for breast cancer patients

WOMEN with suspected breast cancer must have three experts check their test results before a diagnosis is made under new standards to be enforced.

Under the “triple assessment” policy, the radiologist who takes the mammogram, the surgeon who removes the lump and the pathologist who examines it under lab conditions must all agree on whether it is benign or cancerous.

The procedure is designed to minimise the risk of misdiagnosis of patients such as happened to at least two women who attended Barringtons Hospital in Limerick, where breast cancer services have been suspended pending a review of about 1,000 patient files.