Women die from delayed diagnosis - claim

Thursday June 17th, 2010

Nearly a thousand women may be dying from breast cancer each year because of late diagnosis, experts claim today.

A new analysis says Britain should seek to match survival rates in Norway and Sweden.

Lack of awareness among women and delays in health care lead to many cases of women dying within two years of diagnosis, a conference was set to hear.

Improvements would save 957 lives a year.

The findings were being reported to the conference of the National Cancer Intelligence Network.

As many as 260 women die within a month of diagnosis, the researchers said. The main victims are women over the age of 80.

Researcher Professor Henrik Møller, of King's College, London, UK, said: "This study has important implications for women in this country. We could prevent nearly a thousand deaths from breast cancer each year by getting the disease diagnosed earlier, particularly in older women.

"These figures show how important it is for women, and GPs, to know the symptoms of breast cancer and to act on them without delay. Going for screening when invited will also help to catch the disease at the earliest stage. Although women over 70 aren't routinely invited for screening, they can ask their GP for a mammogram."

Network head Chris Carrigan said: "We know that many cancers are being diagnosed too late in this country, and this study reveals the scale of the challenge for breast cancer in particular."

National Cancer director Professor Sir Mike Richards promised more work to improve early diagnosis over the coming months.

Tags: Cancer | Europe | NHS | UK News | Women’s Health & Gynaecology

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