Lack of resources means death sentence for women
The Green Party has called on the Tánaiste and Minister for Health Mary Harney to extend BreastCheck’s screening service to all women over the age of 50. Currently only women living in the north-east, east, south-east and midlands of Ireland can avail of the service.
Green Party spokesperson on Health John Gormley TD said: “It is an outrage that women living in the south or west of the country cannot avail of this life-saving screening service. Early detection is the key to treating this killer disease and reports have shown that early screening saves lives.
“Time and time again those of us on the Joint Oireachtas Health Committee have called for the extension of BreastCheck and those pleas have fallen on deaf ears.
“Today’s report in which Aileen Pyne, who has a history cancer, highlighted having to wait two years for an appointment to be screened is an insult to women across the country. Ireland has one of the highest cancer rates in the world and with this Government refusing to deal with the problem, the statistics are likely to continue to grow.”