Breast Screening For Women Over 65

EDM number 606 in 1997-98, proposed by Linda Perham on 17/12/1997.

That this House congratulates Age Concern on its campaign to alert women aged 65 and over to their entitlement to breast screening; notes that as a result of the Age Concern campaign the numbers of such women requesting an NHS mammogram rose from 39,193 in 1994-95 to 57,535 this year according to findings of the 1997 NHS Breast Screening Programme Review; is concerned that women aged 65 and over who are in the highest risk age group for breast cancer are not automatically invited for screening by the National Health Service; and is concerned that the results of three pilot area studies to measure take-up among older women will not be known until 2000 and up to 2,000 women a year could die from breast cancer unnecessarily; urges the Secretary of State for Health to act on the already available evidence of take-up of NHS breast screening by women aged 65 and over and extend automatic invitation to breast screening to this age group.

This motion has been signed by a total of 104 MPs, 2 of these signatures have been withdrawn.