Death rates from breast cancer are higher in the west

MORTALITY rates from breast cancer are almost a tenth lower in the east of Ireland, where screening for the disease has been ongoing since 2000.

A new study, which has been referenced in the British Medical Journal, has found that in eastern counties where the BreastCheck scheme has been running since the millennium, mortality rates from breast cancer are 9% lower than the western counties where the scheme began in late 2007.

The gap in fatalities is now closing, but the study by three Irish researchers shows the potential benefits of catching cancer early. Lead author of the study, Dr James Healy, of McGill University in Canada, said: ‘It [the figure] is probably an underestimate, as we did not have the perfect chance to see what screening can do, given the sevenyear time frame between the regions.’

Additionally, Dr Healy believes that had screening been introduced in Ireland earlier it may have potentially saved or prolonged lives.

Under the BreastCheck scheme, women aged between 50 and 64 are invited to have a mammogram once every two years. This will expand to all women between 50 and 69 by the start of 2021 which has been welcomed by Charity Breast Cancer Ireland.