The Department of Health breast cancer screening programme is detecting twice as many cases as a decade ago, it has been revealed.
According to Professor Mike Richards, national cancer director, the number of cases detected has risen from 7000 to 14,000 each year, thanks to various upgrades in the programme.
“We’ve brought in two-view mammography at each visit, not just a single view. We’ve extended the age range. It used to be 50-64 years of age and now it goes up 70 years,” he told Health Director magazine. In addition, he revealed that the UK now has “the fastest fall in death rate of any country in the world” thanks to advancements in screening and treatment.
While the government’s planning is partly responsible for this improvement, Professor Richards also stated that it is “a testament to the people who work at the frontline”.
Furthermore, he explained that more work is being done in a workshop with GPs to ensure they are well-equipped to detect and refer cancer, increasing patients’ outcomes.
Professor Richards, along with chairman of the Royal College of General Practitioners Professor Steve Fields, presented at Preventive Health 09, part of the Health of the Nation series of events, which took place on 25 June in Westminster.
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