Campaigner from Breast Friends Grantham calls for screening age to be lowered as NHS figures for Lincolnshire shows decline in appointments
A campaigner is calling for the breast screening age to be lowered after alarming statistics showed that the number of Lincolnshire women going for appointments has dropped.
Charity Breast Cancer Now says that disruption caused by the pandemic has left the number of women taking up the invitation at a ‘historic low’ nationally – and data seen by LincsOnline suggests more than four in ten eligible women in the county have not attended their breast screening appointments.
The pandemic – which put a temporary halt to screenings – has been blamed for breaking the habit, with the figures falling ever since. New figures released today (January 30) show that, for the fourth year in a row, the national NHS breast cancer screening rate was below target.
Rachael Bradley, who is the co-founder of the support group Breast Friends in Grantham, requested to be put through the NHS early family history screening process, following the death of her mum in 2016. She feels testing women at a younger age is key to tackling breast cancer.
Get the news delivered straight to your inbox every morning - sign up to The Briefing here
Rachael, who was diagnosed with breast cancer on the day the first lockdown was announced in 2020, said: “When my mum passed, I asked to be put on the programme and they said no. I felt, as a woman who has lost their closest family member to cancer, that I needed to have it done. I had to really stamp my feet and eventually they let me have one done.
“I had my first mammogram at 40 and my cancer got picked up on the second. It was a deep tissue case and so I had no idea it was there. By the time they did surgery it had already spread to my lymph nodes and it was an aggressive form of cancer.
“Because my cancer was deep tissue, if it had not come to the surface or developed as a lump by the time I would have been eligible to have my first mammogram at the age of 50, I potentially could have had stage 4 cancer and been incurable.
“It took me tireless efforts saying ‘please screen me’ my mum died of breast cancer and ultimately it saved my life.”
The NHS Breast Screening Programme collects regional breast screening data for women aged between 53 and 71. The target is to have had 70% of women having attended an appointment within the past three years at any one time.
The data for March 2018 reveals that the percentage in Lincolnshire was 77.7%. However, the most recent data for March 2022 states this had dropped to 63.8%.
An NHS England spokesman provided LincsOnline with separate data which suggested the number had fallen as low as 57.9% in 2022/23 – a fall of almost 20% in five years.
The spokesman said: “Women are not taking up the opportunity of breast screening as much as before the Covid pandemic.”
They added: “Every woman who receives an invitation letter to a breast screening appointment should take it up, by calling the contact details given to arrange a convenient time, date and venue.
“There are no delays and we are assuring women that they will be tested by all female members of staff, and that full infection prevention and control measures are practiced.”
Data from the NHS Breast Screening Programme also shows that 3.2 million women in England were invited for the procedure in 2021 and 2022 but only 2.1 million of those were screened.
Rachael said: “There’s a huge increase in people getting diagnosed earlier and earlier and, for me, I certainly feel that women from the age of 25 should be given ultrasounds every three years. They definitely need to lower the breast screening age whether that is done through mammograms or ultrasounds.
“I feel that to have a mammogram, it’s something that takes minutes and I’ve never found it uncomfortable. It’s a bit impersonal but it’s a very simple procedure.
“It sees inside your breast tissue and it can see what you can’t see, if something is found then that individual is in a great position as it has been found early.
“We are so privileged to have the NHS and don’t have to pay for these kind of things. They are offering an invitation for you to maintain your health, so take that invitation and advocate for yourself.
“For people who might feel anxious or concerned about it, I think they need to talk about it a bit more to find out what’s making them feel like that, is it the procedure itself or the ‘what if’ scenarios.”
Rachael’s campaign work led to her getting the honour of being asked to carry the Queen’s Baton through Grantham ahead of the 2022 Commonwealth Games – and inspired the creation of a pink dustcart for South Kesteven to spread awareness.
Rachael said: “Going through it during Covid was an excruciating lonely time - it was hideous. People think that after you’ve gone through it you’ll be ok, but it’s a life of torture now, for the rest of my life.
“The emotional torment and the scares from the whole journey are there forever and you are always wondering if the cancer has come back or spread to a different area.
“It was a hideous time, which is why me and my friend Sara, who also had breast cancer, set up Breast Friends. The group is all about being around and talking to people who understand what really happens, we are all there through the good and bad times. It’s a wonderful little group and I’m proud of it.”
The Lincolnshire breast screening services offer appointments for women aged between 50 and 70, which are available all year round by visiting the Breast Units at Pilgrim Hospital in Boston, the County Hospital in Lincoln and Grantham Hospital.
There are also mobile sites across Lincolnshire for time limited periods. You can find out more via the United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS trust website.
If you are interested in joining the Breast Friends Grantham group, visit the Facebook page and send them a request.
What do you think? Should breast screenings be carried out at a younger age? Share your views in the comments below.