Lifelines

Breast check:

Breast check:

Breast Check, the National Breast Screening Programme, has achieved a take-up rate of 71 per cent since it began in February 2000. From a total of 41,630 women invited for screening, 27,824 have come forward. Phase one of the National Breast Screening Programme continues in the Eastern Region Health Authority area and the North Eastern and Midland Health Boards health boards. Women between the ages of 50 and 64 can call 1800 454555 for more information.

Walking keeps you brainy:

If you want to stay mentally young, go for a long walk. Women who walk regularly are less likely to experience memory loss and other kinds of age-related mental decline. That's according to a study conducted at the University of California, San Francisco. Researchers tested the cognitive abilities of about 6,000 women aged 65 and older. The women were given a mental exam at the start of the study and then again six to eight years later. Women who walked the least less than a half a mile a week were the most likely to develop cognitive decline. Of those, Twenty-four per cent showed significant declines in their test scores, compared to only 17 of women in the most active group.