Cancer controversy: key dates

August 15th: Director of nursing at Portlaoise raised concerns about 10 "false positive" mammograms.

August 15th:Director of nursing at Portlaoise raised concerns about 10 "false positive" mammograms.

August 29th:The HSE informed the Department of Health and the Minister for Health that following the concerns raised, it had ceased the provision of breast radiology services at Portlaoise, placed a consultant radiologist on administrative leave and set up a review of all breast radiology diagnoses at the hospital in the period from November 2003 to August 2007.

August 31st:The news became public and the HSE told patients there was "no need for concern".

September 3rd:The HSE said the review would cover 3,000 mammograms carried out at the hospital.

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November 2nd:It emerged that seven of the women whose mammograms had been reviewed had been diagnosed with breast cancer.

November 7th:It emerged a surgeon in the hospital had expressed concerns about the radiological service at the hospital as far back as July 2005, pointing in particular to inexperienced staff.

Today:Six women, whose files were reviewed, still await the results of tests to see if they were misdiagnosed.