Breast screening unit that will come to you...

A MOBILE ‘breast screening van’ is coming to Dewsbury this spring in the hope it will encourage more women to come forward for scans.

Pennine Breast Screening Service has taken the decision to “put their office on wheels”, and a van will be positioned in Ravensthorpe Retail Park in May, before moving to Dewsbury & District Hospital before the summer.

Exact dates have not yet been confirmed, with one organiser saying the team are having to be “fluid with dates” due to the pandemic.

Women aged between 50 and 70-years-old are invited to undergo a mammogram - an X-ray test that can spot cancers when they are too small to see or feel - every three years.

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Eligible patients will receive an invitation to attend an appointment at the mobile office through the post.

Rachel Spencer-Henshall, strategic director for public health at Kirklees Council, said: “It is brilliant to see healthcare services adapting to make really important check-ups like breast screening, easier for women in Kirklees.

“One in seven women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime, but survival rates are very high when it’s detected early. Screening finds changes in our bodies that could turn into cancer, even before we could spot them ourselves.

“If you have been invited for your breast screening, visit the team at Pennine - they are very friendly and can answer any questions you have.

“And if you know any women between 50 and 70, ask them if they’ve been for their screening.”

Enter your postcode to find your nearest vaccine centreJulie Hodgins, health promotion specialist at Pennine Breast Screening Service, said: “Around eighty percent of women book again after they have been once, however we have seen an especially low uptake in younger women this year - those aged 50-53 who are being invited for their first time.

“We want women to know that the facility is COVID-safe, and that the procedure itself is quick and easy.

For more information, email: Bth. penninehp@nhs.net.