THE HEALTH Ministry is to introduce free breast cancer screening for all women aged between 25 and 65 by the end of the year.
Speaking on the occasion of Breast Cancer Awareness week, Health Minister Frixos Savvides said yesterday: “European Union countries have approximately 250,000 women diagnosed with breast cancer every year, of which 70,000 die. In Cyprus, of the 2,049 outbreaks of cancer recorded last year, 273, or 14 per cent, were new cases of breast cancer. It is the most frequent form of the disease on the island and unfortunately most cases are diagnosed in the advanced stages, if not very advanced stages, where the chances of successful treatment are greatly reduced.”
The free screening is to be introduced before the end of the year.
“The Health Ministry has been negotiating with the Cyprus Medical Association and the Cyprus X-Ray Association to find the best way to organise the tests. We have received £100,000 credit from the European Union to add to our funds for the purchase of equipment and have hired two new specialists for the X-ray departments in Nicosia and Larnaca and are about to hire two more.”
Women will be invited the take the test by age groups and will have the choice of going to a private clinic or a state hospital.
Breast cancer is the second most frequent cause of women’s death worldwide, with at least one in ten women suffering the disease at some point in their lives, said Stella Kyriakidou, the president of the Cyprus Breast Cancer Forum.
“Cyprus is one of the few European countries where there has not been nationwide testing so that diagnosis can be made as quickly as possible since we all know that an early diagnosis saves lives, and that breast cancer can be cured,” Kyriakidou said.
Kyriakidou, who was diagnosed with breast cancer four and a half yeas ago, said the Forum, a branch of the Cyprus Association of Cancer Patients and Friends, had organised a week of events aimed at raising awareness of the disease, for which early diagnosis was crucial to saving lives.
“Today we would like to announce the start of two new activities. The first is a weekly meeting for women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer, women who have questions and fears about ever being cured. The group will meet every Wednesday from 4.30 to 6pm at the Bank of Cyprus Oncology Centre and will be manned by women from the association who have had the same experiences. On occasion, there will also be doctors, physiotherapists and other experts attending the meeting to speak with the women and answer questions.”
The second effort is the setting up of a Cancer Support and Information hotline at 0778282. “This line is an attempt to help every woman and man who is experiencing cancer or has questions.”
