PARLIAMENTARY EARLY DAY MOTION
BREAST SCREENING FOR WOMEN OVER 65 (17 December 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.

Sponsored by:
Linda Perham (Labour)