EUROPA Donna Cyprus said yesterday it had contacted a European network of breast cancer specialists to commission a feasibility study about setting up a breast unit in Cyprus.
The move was prompted after the breast cancer coalition tired of waiting for the government to set up a breast unit.
“We have been waiting for a very long time for a breast unit to be set up according to European guidelines and the European Parliament Resolution on breast cancer,” Europa Donna Cyprus President Stella Kyriakides said.
Although the Health Ministry announced the opening of the island’s first breast clinic at Limassol general hospital in January this year, Kyriakides said it was not in line with European guidelines.
Unwilling to put up with more broken promises, Europa Donna has already been in contact with the European experts.
“They will be invited to do a study about what it will cost to set up this unit in Cyprus,” she said.
The study would then be handed over to the Health Ministry in the hope that it would convince officials that the need for a breast unit was real.
“According to the European Resolution and European guidelines you need a unit for every one million people, so we need at least one unit,” she said.
The European Parliament passed the resolution in 2003.
Earlier this year, Kyriakides met with House President Marios Garoyian to discuss the issue. Following the March meeting, Garoyian had appeared in favour of adopting the resolution. At the time, Kyriakides had said Europa Donna aimed to have the unit up and running by October, which sees both International Breast Cancer Day and European Breast Health Day.
But by yesterday nothing had been done.
Kyriakides said EU Health Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou had also said that as an EU country Cyprus could not ignore a resolution that had been passed twice in the European Parliament.
“We have to at least be moving in the direction to meet these resolutions and in breast cancer this is not happening,” she said.
The DISY deputy, who also sits on the House Health Committee, said the breast unit should be free for all women and not restricted to the private sector.
She said such a unit would offer women complete breast care from a mammogram and diagnosis, to surgery and breast reconstruction.
“It has to be fully equipped with radiographers, surgeons and a multidisciplinary team,” she said.
Asked how many doctors such a unit would require, Kyriakides could not say.
“That is why we have contacted this network of breast specialists and to see if we are able to go ahead.”
She said Europa Donna would undertake to fund the project, which it would then give to the ministry for consideration.
“We are not willing to wait any more,” she said.
“This project has not been done before, but we hope we will have the Health Minister’s support if we come out with a serious proposal.”
