Mammograms missed by third of eligible women in Oxfordshire

Marian Dewer, from Banbury, and Karen Warren, from Oxford, were both diagnosed after being invited to routine screenings

About a third of women eligible for breast cancer screening in Oxfordshire are not taking up their appointments.

The number attending appointments in the county has fallen from 71.5% in 2023 to 66.9%.

Although that figure is above the national average, it is below target and has been "red flagged" by the Health Improvement Board.

Two women in the county diagnosed with breast cancer following mammograms joined calls for others to get checked.

Marian Dewer, from Banbury, and Karen Warren, from Oxford, were both diagnosed after being invited to routine screenings.

Ms Warren, who was diagnosed three years ago, had rearranged her screening as it had been due to clash with a holiday.

Soon after, she was called into hospital and told her test had come back positive, leaving her "totally shocked".

"Thank goodness I went," she said.

"That's what [mammograms] are there for, they can pick things up that are happening that you don't know about."That's so important to save lives."

Catching cancer early using mammograms can save lives

Ms Dewer said staff at her screening seven years ago had been "absolutely lovely" and "very discreet and so quick".

Within a week of her mammogram, she was called into Churchill Hospital in Oxford and told she had an aggressive form of breast cancer that had also spread to her lymph nodes.She had been showing no symptoms at all and had no history of cancer in her family, but was told by doctors following her mammogram that she would have had six months left to live had she not attended a screening.

Getting checked was the only reason she was "here to live to tell the tale", she said.

NHS England recently launched a national appeal to encourage women to get themselves checked.

Dr Louise Wilkinson, consultant radiologist and national specialist advisor for breast screening at NHS England, said: "We know that lives are saved when cancers are caught early.

"I know life gets busy, but I would urge anyone who has received a breast screening invitation - even if you received the invite weeks or months ago - to put your health at the top of your to-do list and book an appointment at your local screening service or mobile unit. It could save your life."

Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust record their figures annually, with the overall take-up rate for breast screening in 2022/3 being 70%.

In contrast, the Health Improvement Board measures the figures quarterly, with 71.5% being the figure for the first quarter of 2022, and 66.9% for quarter one in 2023.

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