§ Lord Alton of Liverpoolasked Her Majesty's Government:
What strategy they have in place to combat the expected rise by over 2 per cent per annum between now and 2023 in the breast cancer rate among women aged 45 to 59, which the recent report from Patrick Carroll of the Pension and Population Research Institute concludes will be largely due to the high rate of nulliparous abortions and the decline in the birth rate. [HL1893]
§ Lord Hunt of Kings HeathThe suggested link with abortion is not proven.
The Government are already taking comprehensive action to detect breast cancer at an early stage and to ensure prompt, high quality treatment.
The National Health Service Breast Screening Programme routinely screens women aged 50 to 64 (currently being extended to women aged up to 70) every three years. In 1999–2000, over 8,000 cancers were detected by breast screening in England. Improvements are also being introduced to the way in which mammography images are taken.
Genetic factors may increase the risk of breast cancer for some women. The Department of Health is working, in partnership with Macmillan Cancer Relief, to improve cancer genetic risk assessment and counselling services in England. This will involve working with primary care teams to help them identify the level of risk for individual patients based on their family history.
Around 95 per cent of suspected breast cancer patients referred urgently are seen within two weeks. By December 2001, women with breast cancer will wait one month from diagnosis to treatment and by 2002 will wait a maximum of two months from urgent general practitioner referral to treatment for breast cancer.