Deputy Niamh Smyth is calling on the Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly, to extend the breast screening age. The screening stops for women at the age of 69 years and Deputy Smyth says that because women are living longer, the screening needs to continue into their 70s.
Speaking to Northern Sound, the local TD pointed to how breast cancer is the second leading cause of death among women in Ireland. She says early detection is key in the treatment and prevention of the disease.
Deputy Smyth added that as women get older the risk of cancer increases. "Women who have been diagnosed with cancer feel very aggrieved - particularly if they are over 70-years-old and they are four or five years into it when they get a screening because they find a lump.
"They are aggrieved naturally enough; they feel discarded really, that at 70 years of age they are being told that they are too old for screening. We know that the reality is that the older they get, the higher the risk. Women are living longer and it makes perfect sense that that we should be screening and screening more often," she said.
