Teresa Costello (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for attending the Seanad.

Over the course of our lives, it is estimated that one in seven women will develop breast cancer. Each year in Ireland, there are approximately 3,600 new cases and around 23% of diagnosis occurs in women under the age of 50. Currently, BreastCheck is offered to women aged 50 to 69. I am aware that following submissions, including mine, HIQA is reviewing the expansion of the BreastCheck programme. What is the status of this review?

Looking beyond Ireland, we can learn from other countries' national breast screening programmes. Austria, for example, recommends starting screening at age 45, with an opt-in option available from age 40. In Iceland, Sweden, Türkiye and, further afield from Europe, Australia, national screening programmes are offered to women over 40. We need to be next. We need to be informing women if they have dense breasts, something that could easily be added to the BreastCheck screening service given that a mammogram identifies breast density, leaving women with an understanding that different methods of screening may be needed for them for accurate results. This too is already done in the US, Canada, France and Australia. It is vital that women of all ages check their breasts, know their own normal and attend their GP if they are concerned.

The message that early detection is vital in the fight against breast cancer is being communicated strongly and consistently. In 2013, when I presented to my GP with a lump, although he thought I was too young to have breast cancer, he had the good sense to exercise caution and referred me to the breast clinic at St. James's. On that day, I underwent a mammogram, an ultrasound and a biopsy. His caution saved my life. Early detection saves lives. I cannot say it enough. It is a message ingrained in our mindset, thankfully, due to the increased awareness and education surrounding breast cancer. However, if a woman is in her 20s or 30s, she may follow all the advice given, checking her breasts, knowing her normal and going to her GP if she finds something, but sometimes she is told not to worry because she is too young. Even when a woman is referred to the BreastCare clinic, she may be examined and sent home with the promise of a scan.

Take the case of Ziva Cussen, who was just 21 when she was referred to the BreastCare clinic by her GP. She was told not to worry and that she would be sent an appointment for a scan. Six months passed and Ziva was still waiting on this promised scan. The pain in her breast concerned her so much that she pushed for her scan. When she finally got it, her cancer had progressed to stage 4. Ziva did all the right things, but she was let down by a systematic failure. Muireann McColgan, who is 37, was 31 weeks pregnant when she expressed concerns. It was a midwife who urged her to seek a second opinion. When she originally presented, she was told that she was too young and that lumps and bumps during pregnancy were to be expected.

Ziva and Muireann are not isolated cases. I recently contacted a hospital on behalf of a 23-year-old girl who had waited over six months for her scan after attending a breast clinic. There was a family history. Thankfully, her lump was not cancerous, but the emotional stress experienced while waiting on the scans was simply unnecessary. Quite simply, when a woman in her 20s or 30s has an appointment at a BreastCare clinic, she should automatically have a scan on that day. No woman should have to walk around with a lump in her breast for six or seven months wondering and worrying, especially after having sat in the BreastCare clinic. Ziva and Muireann have been left feeling let down, asking what if they had been scanned earlier.

We need to move with the times. Cancer occurrences are increasing and younger women are being diagnosed more frequently. A screening programme offered to woman from the age of 40 is essential. Let women decide if they want to avail of it. Early detection saves lives, and we must continue to prioritise that message through both policy and practice. Diagnostic screening for younger women presenting with signs of breast cancer is essential and must be faster and more efficient.