Around 5,000 people will be diagnosed with breast cancer this October.
This month is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and we would like to encourage ALL ladies to attend their breast screening appointments. Our Breast Imaging Units at Chequer Road (Cameo Centre) and Bassetlaw Hospital are staffed by an excellent, friendly and skilled team of ladies who will do their very best to make your visit here as pleasant an experience as possible.
The Forrest Report, commissioned by the Minister for Health and published in 1986, stated:
“Breast Cancer is the commonest cancer affecting British women and the countries in the United Kingdom have the highest mortality rates from breast cancer in the world”.
After this report was published, the screening program was created to help reduce the number of ladies dying from breast cancer.
If you’re female you should receive your first invite to breast screening after you are 49 and before you are 53. After your first visit you will be invited every three years up to being 70 years old. Once you are over 70 you can continue to have three yearly breast screening by simply phoning up our breast screening unit and making an appointment. If you can’t make the appointment offered to you, if you haven’t received an appointment or if you want to know when your next appointment is due, just ring the screening unit on 01302 644966. Our lovely administration team will be happy to help.
It’s important to note that breast screening is for well ladies who do not have any current signs or symptoms of breast cancer. It is a check, using X-rays, to detect breast cancer, with identification of early stage cancers enabling a better chance of successful treatment and recovery. The whole appointment will take approximately eight minutes of your time.
If you’re a female, aged 49+, this is a service for you. As you enter the 50 and over club, try to limit the opportunity for breast cancer to significantly affect your life, by engaging with regular breast screening every three years.