Call for funding to allow cancer screening resume
The Irish Cancer Society has called for immediate funding to allow the resumption of a vital screening service for women at risk of a genetic breast cancer after it emerged that the service has been suspended since springtime.
St James’s Hospital confirmed yesterday its Family Risk Service has been “temporarily suspended” since April, “due to access to diagnostic mammography services”.
The Irish Cancer Society said the suspension was “a worrying development for the women concerned who are at increased risk of breast cancer due to high-risk predisposing genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2”.
The genes significantly increase the risk of breast cancer when harmful mutations are present.
One woman with a family history of cancer told RTÉ radio’s Liveline programme she had no symptoms of breast cancer, but the screening service picked it up “and saved my life”.
The service is not currently offering appointments to new patients and all Family Risk referral appointments were postponed.
St James’s is advising patients who experience a breast symptom to contact their GP for a referral to their nearest symptomatic breast clinic. The service is currently reviewing charts and imaging and urgent patients are still being seen.
The hospital said in a statement that it has been in discussions with the HSE and the National Cancer Control Programme (NCCP) in relation to the service and “funding has recently been received to replace one mammography machine and to purchase a third which will be operational in quarter 1, 2019”.
The hospital said this would help alleviate delays experienced by patients waiting to have their mammogram.
The statement said the hospital is working to restore the service “as soon as possible whilst maintaining timely access to symptomatic breast services”.
The Irish Cancer Society wrote to the NCCP yesterday seeking clarification as to why there is no capacity to assess the women and what solutions are being put in place.
It wrote: “Funding must be made available as a matter of priority to ensure the Family History Breastcare service resumes operations as soon as possible, and that any backlogs or delays are processed in a safe, timely and efficacious manner.”
The society pointed out the National Cancer Strategy commits the NCCP to the further development of a programme for hereditary cancer, and services are available to patients on the basis of need.
“The Irish Cancer Society believes this forms an important part of the national strategy and must be supported and actioned fully,” it said.
