A leading cancer specialist has said he is disappointed and frustrated at the "inordinate" delay in establishing proper centres for the treatment of women with breast cancer in the State.
Prof Niall O'Higgins, professor of surgery at UCD, said a report published two years ago recommended the setting up of 13 centres of excellence for the treatment of breast cancer but none measured up to the standards proposed.
"And there are only a few of them that have proper services available," he said. The 2000 report from the National Cancer Forum recommended that there should be five specialist breast cancer units in Dublin, two in Cork, and one each in Galway, Limerick, Waterford, Drogheda, Sligo and Tullamore.
It said there was evidence that diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer in specialist multi-disciplinary clinics could cut death rates by up to 20 per cent. Prof O'Higgins, president of the World Federation of Surgical Oncology Societies, said there was very little "tangible evidence of improvements being implemented" at the patient level. "I think there are huge delays, there has been inordinate slowness in proceeding. It's hard to know if this is due to lack of funding, we're told not, or lack of commitment but there certainly does seem to be a huge delay in implementing this and we're not talking here about icing on a cake, we're not talking about enhancing the quality of a hospital or prestige of an institution.
"We are talking about the lives of women. We have a lot of evidence now from all over the Western world that if you have patients with breast cancer treated in a suitable setting you can reduce premature death rates by up to 20 per cent. That's why the medical profession feels compelled to bring this to the Government's attention.
"All of us in this sort of process feel disappointed and frustrated but by no means discouraged. We cannot afford to be discouraged. The issue is too important," he said. The report's implementation required funding, strategic planning and commitment, he said. Prof O'Higgins described breast cancer as a scourge which kills 600 women in Ireland every year. He said that despite improvements it still kills half of all women who contract it.
He said there was an excellent breast cancer screening programme in place but "a sub-optimal system" for women with symptoms of the disease.
"An excellent screening programme must be matched by at least an equally good system for the investigation of women who have complaints," he stressed.
Prof O'Higgins was speaking at the publication in Dublin of a guide to specialist breast clinics produced by Europa Donna Ireland, the Irish Breast Cancer Campaign.
The guide was launched by EU Commissioner, Ms Anna Diamantopoulou. She said one woman was diagnosed with breast cancer in the EU every 2½ minutes and one woman dies of breast cancer in the EU every 6½ minutes. She said it was the leading cause of death among women aged 35 to 50 and in Ireland, mortality rates from breast cancer are higher than the EU average.
"Yet a diagnosis of breast cancer is by no means a death sentence. We know that around 90 per cent of women can be cured if a tumour is detected at an early stage," she said.
She criticised the enormous disparities between diagnostic and treatment facilities for breast cancer across the EU.
"This is unacceptable. A woman in all countries, in all regions must have equal access to high quality screening, diagnosis and treatment facilities," she said.
The Department of Health, in a statement issued last night, said there had been extensive consultations with health boards over the past year about the best way forward for the development of symptomatic breast disease services.
"A total of €5.2 million was allocated between health boards in 2001 specifically for the development of symptomatic breast disease services. An additional sum of €23.55 million was allocated in 2002 for the ongoing development of cancer services, including symptomatic breast disease services," it said.
