No excuse for delay in screening

The delay by the Department of Health in extending the BreastCheck cancer screening service for women, could, literally, be the cause of deaths that could be prevented.

The experience in Northern Ireland has shown conclusively that screening is a major factor in arresting the numbers of deaths from this cause.

The recent findings of the All-Ireland cancer statistics 1998-2000, revealed that the mortality rates from breast cancer in the North, where nationally sponsored screening programmes are well-established, fell by more than 20% between 1994 and 2000.