Health: Breast Cancer

Baroness Fookes Excerpts

Monday 3rd October 2011 Lords Chamber

[Earl Howe]

Yes, I can, my Lords. It is very important that doctors should feel absolutely free to refer patients. I remind the noble Lord that it is a right for patients, under the NHS constitution, to expect to be referred within the laid-down waiting time maximum periods, so we are very clear that there should be nothing to interfere with doctors’ clinical judgment in this area.

[Baroness Fookes]

My Lords, am I right in thinking that screening comes to an end after a certain age for women? If that is correct, does it make any sense when the incidence of breast cancer increases with age?

[Earl Howe]

My Lords, my noble friend is right that we have historically targeted women in a certain age group for breast cancer screening. We are looking to see whether that age group should be widened but it is generally true to say that screening is more cost-effective in older women. It has certainly been the case that the breast screening programme over the past number of years has increased the detection of cancer and saved an estimated 1,400 lives a year.