The Government is being urged to include women over 65 in the national breast cancer screening programme.

More than 30 women MPs have joined forces to sign a Commons motion asking ministers to reconsider a decision not to invite older women for regular check-ups.

BBC Correspondent, Kim Catcheside, examines breast cancer care for mature women (2' 09")

Campaigners believe that between 2000-3000 lives could be saved if older women were included in the screening programme.

Under current guidelines, only women between the ages of 50 and 64 are routinely invited for free breast screening on the NHS every three years.

About 1,000,000 women go for screening every year at 100 units around the UK, which in 1994/5 received £37m funding from the Department of Health.

At present, there is no screening provision for women under 50 because it is believed mammograms are ineffective until a woman goes through the menopause and the breast tissue becomes less dense.

Health Minister Baroness Jay denies accusations of ageism (3' 47")

One in 12 women in the UK will at some stage in their lives suffer from breast cancer. It is the most common cancer in women in the western world - and kills more than 14,000 women in the UK every year.

While the mortality figure has fallen by more than 1,000 in five years, doctors say early detection can mean the difference between life and death.
 

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