Bernard Allen
Question:183 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Health and Children the steps he has taken to deal with the mortality rates for breast cancer. [6555/01]
Written Answers. - Cancer Incidence.
A report on the development of services for symptomatic breast disease was prepared by a sub-group of the National Cancer Forum and recommends the development of centres of excellence for the specialist treatment of breast disease. The report refers to the strong evidence which exists that women with breast cancer are at a lower risk of relapse and have a better opportunity of long-term survival if they are treated in a multidisciplinary setting. This means that surgeons, radiologists, pathologists, medical oncologists, radiotherapists, plastic surgeons, nurses, counsellors and others all bring expertise together to provide the best care for each patient.
I am pleased to inform the Deputy that I allocated £4.315 million from national cancer strategy funding in the current year to enable the development of centres of excellence to commence in the Eastern Regional Health Authority area, Portlaoise General Hospital, Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, Waterford Regional Hospital, University College Hospital Galway and the Southern Health Board area. The development of centres of excellence for the treatment of breast disease will continue over a period of a number of years and will form part of the next phase of implementation of the national cancer strategy. I am committed to providing the best, safest and most effective treatment for women and, in so doing, provide the best opportunity for long-term survival for those who are found to have breast cancer.
In addition to the symptomatic service currently available in acute hospitals, the Deputy may be aware that BreastCheck, the national breast screening programme, was formally launched on 10 October last. Phase I of the programme will cover the Eastern, North Eastern and Midland Health Board areas and will target 136,000 women in the age cohort 50 to 64, which represents approximately 50% of the national target population. The service is being delivered by two central units, the Eccles Unit on the Mater Hospital campus and the Merrion Unit on St. Vincent's Hospital campus, with outreach to the community by means of three mobile units. The Eccles Unit is now fully commissioned and screening commenced there in February 2000. Limited screening is also in progress in St. Vincent's Hospital pending the construction of the new Merrion Unit. In addition, the first mobile screening commenced on 21 August 2000 in Longford. I am confident that the combined efforts of both these initiatives will have a significant positive impact on the mortality rates from breast cancer.
Bernard Allen
Question:184 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Health and Children if he will make a statement on the recent demands by the breast cancer campaign group, Europa Donna Ireland, that his Department would initiate an information and education campaign to explain the rationale behind the recommendations of the National Cancer Forum's report on breast cancer services. [6556/01]
A sub-group of the National Cancer Forum reviewed symptomatic breast disease services in this country and submitted a report to me last year. The report entitled, Development of Services for Symptomatic Breast Disease, contains recommendations regarding the future development of symptomatic breast disease services. Following consideration of the report, I established an advisory group to assist and liaise with health boards in the formulation of their plans for the implementation of the recommendations at local level. The advisory group met with representa tives of each health board to explain the rationale behind the recommendations and assist as required.
At a recent meeting with the National Cancer Forum, I acknowledged the challenges that are being encountered in implementing the recommendations. I accept that centres of excellence for the treatment of symptomatic breast disease are required in order to ensure the best possible outcome for cancer patients, while acknowledging that the public, medical professionals and politicians need to be apprised of the benefits to be gained from developing these centres. In this context, my Department is considering how the public can be more fully informed about developments in symptomatic breast disease services.