Breast Cancer Awareness Month: Isle Of Wight Woman Can’t Get Checked

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month but an Isle of Wight woman says she’s "incredibly concerned" after she was told she can’t book an appointment to get screened at St Mary’s Hospital.

That’s despite Eileen receiving a letter from the Isle of Wight NHS Trust advising her to get checked next month (November).

Eileen's letter from the Isle of Wight NHS Trust, seen by Isle of Wight Radio states:

'Your next screening appointment is due in November 2020... If you choose to have breast screening, please come along to the appointment above. If the appointment is not convenient, you can make another appointment with the screening unit by phone.'

But no specific appointment date for November was confirmed in the letter.

When Eileen called up to book an appointment, she said she was “amazed” after being told by the NHS Trust she couldn’t book to get checked and is “concerned” the service has been withdrawn.

It’s alleged, St Mary’s Hospital staff told her to go to her doctor ‘in future’ if she feels she has a ‘problem’ and he will contact the screening unit.

A spokesperson for the Isle of Wight NHS Trust said: 'I hope Eileen followed up with her GP regarding her concerns. The service is still available.'

Eileen told Isle of Wight Radio "it didn't feel right" to contact her GP with the current coronavirus situation and her GP has "never been involved in the process for booking breast screenings in the past".

She said:

“I [called] and said could I please book an appointment for November and I was rather amazed to be told no I couldn’t. I said was this because of the present situation with COVID virus? And I was told: In future, if I feel I have a problem I should go to my doctor and then he would contact the screening unit.

“I was a bit amazed by this because we are encouraged to be proactive with our own health and I feel that if they are now going to withdraw this service, it would have been better to be told so - rather than in such a manner.”

Women between the ages of 50 and 70 are invited to get screened every three years. However, women over 70 are told to get checked when advised by the NHS, which is why Eileen tried to book an appointment.

One-quarter of breast cancer cases are diagnosed in women aged 75 and over. Eileen says she's worried that once she notices symptoms, it could be “too late, she said:

“We are still at risk in our 70s of getting breast cancer and I’m 73 now….Symptoms are not always easy to find or spot.”

Almost 5,000 people will be diagnosed with the disease this Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It is the most common cancer in women in the UK, with one woman diagnosed every ten minutes.

A spokesperson for the Isle of Wight NHS Trust said:

'If Eileen had been invited for a breast screening appointment as part of the national breast screening process, then the letter Eileen would have received from us would have included an appointment day and time.

'I hope Eileen followed up with her GP regarding her concerns. The service is still available.'

For breast cancer support and information, call Breast Cancer Now's free Helpline on 0808 800 6000 or call Wessex Cancer Trust on 01983 524186.