EU-funded breast cancer programme to expand

HEALTH Minister Dina Akkelidou said yesterday there had been a very high response rate to the breast cancer screening programme introduced in Cyprus two months ago as part of a European Union initiative.

Around one and a half thousand women have already had a free mammogram at the Health Centre in Aglandja, which houses a state-of-the-art mammography machine funded by the EU.

Of those, 44 suspected cases of cancer were uncovered and 10 were confirmed. Doctors are awaiting the results of another 34 biopsies.

The minister said the centre checked 40 women a day and as a result of the positive response to the breast cancer screening programme, opening hours will be extended to afternoons from three to six and to Saturdays as well. Similar centres are also planned for Limassol and Larnaca.

Akkelidou said the ultimate goal was to screen all women in Cyprus aged between 50 and 69. In order to meet this target, women in that crucial age group needed to be continuously informed, she said.

Stella Kyriakidou, President of the Cyprus Breast Cancer Movement Europa Donna, said this was not just about taking part in a programme, but about saving lives. October is the pan-European month for breast cancer awareness, she said, adding that 80 per cent of breast cancer cases affect women over the age of 50.

The programme aims to secure a 25 per cent decrease in incidences of breast cancer in Cyprus by 2008.

On average, 300 new cases of the disease are recorded in Cyprus every year.
About 216,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer in EU countries every year, and 79,000 of them die of the disease.

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