New app for women under 35 to monitor breast pain

The Health Service has launched a new app for women under thirty-five who are worried about breast pain and tenderness.

The app allows women to keep a diary and monitor breast pain to establish whether there is a pattern emerging

If appropriate, the woman can return to her GP after completing the diary - and be referred for tests if necessary.

The National Cancer Control Programme said the risk for women in Ireland developing cancer is just one-in-ten.

Dr. Susan O'Reilly said that the new app will help to allay the fears of young women who are experiencing breast pain that is perfectly normal and nothing to worry about.

"The main intent here is to provide young women with a technologically very easy to use means of monitoring your breast symptoms to prove that it is indeed related to menstrual cycle," she said

"To be able to provide the a graph for your own benefit over a three month time period to be able to show to your GP and then have an informal discussion."