An innovative breast screening service – offering women concerned about their health access to experienced consultants and the latest screening technologies – is now available from BreastHealth UK in the Birmingham area.
The new BreastHealth UK clinics will be run by surgeons working out of two hospitals operated by Spire Healthcare – Parkway in Solihull, and Little Aston in Sutton Coldfield. The clinics form part of a growing network of BreastHealth UK clinics, which are being opened nationally.
One in nine women in the UK will develop breast cancer and every year more than 44,000 new cases are diagnosed. Most of the new breast cancers arise in women with no prior family history of breast cancer. The earlier breast cancer is detected, the better the chances of survival and the less the personal trauma.
Birmingham-based Consultant Surgeon Ian Paterson, and Professor Gordon Wishart, Medical Director of BreastHealth UK, declared the new clinics open on 4 March 2009.
The new clinics will offer women the BreastHealth Risk Assessment Service to determine their personal level of risk, and provide state-of-the-art facilities for ongoing cancer screening, including Digital Infrared BreastScan (DIB) which is particularly suited for younger women. The BreastHealth Risk Assessment Service combines a genetic test with lifestyle and family history information to generate a personal risk profile for breast cancer.
“BreastHealth UK aims to make comprehensive, personalised breast screening services readily available to all women,” says Ian Paterson. “At present the NHS only offers routine breast screening for women aged between 50 and 70 despite the fact that breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women under 35.
“One of the problems is that mammography is less sensitive in younger women who have denser breast tissue. Now we can accurately gauge a young woman’s personal risk and tailor an individual breast screening programme.”
Digital Infrared BreastScan is a technique which is particularly suitable for women under 50 and complements other screening technologies. It is a non-contact technique that picks up ‘hot spots’ that may be caused by increased blood flow to cancerous tissue, and has the potential to pick up tumours at an early stage.
Research published last year revealed that breast cancer is not one but a number of different diseases. Professor Gordon Wishart has identified a number of tests that provide an indication of the level of personal risk.
“At BreastHealth UK we use a range of tools and technologies to ensure accurate and timely detection of any abnormalities. Women can also be reassured that there will always be an experienced breast surgeon available, who can explain the implications of their results and any potential follow-up courses of action, if necessary,” he says.
Patients at the clinics will have access to a personalised breast screening programme that may include mammography, clinical breast examination, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and DIB, depending on their personal level of risk and other circumstances.
Mr Troels Jordansen, Managing Director of BreastHealth UK, says, “We want women to feel ‘looked after’ by our service and that they belong to a screening programme that can offer them the most up-to-date breast screening technology. The NHS offers a good breast screening service, but we are keen to focus on introducing new technologies with a special focus on younger women who are not currently eligible for NHS screening. We are already exploring new and innovative services that we hope to be able to add to our portfolio later this year.”
Further details are available at www.BreastHealthUK.com. To make an appointment call 0800 085 6616.