Breast cancer screening rates lowest in London

(PressZoom) - More than a third of women in the capital who are invited to be screened for breast cancer are failing to take up the offer, a report from the London Assembly reveals today.

London has the lowest uptake of breast cancer screening in the country – 13 percent below the national average of 75 percent1. This is despite statistics that show survival rates2 are lagging far behind those in north and central Europe, and one in nine women will be diagnosed with the disease during their lifetime. In 2005, breast cancer claimed the lives of 1,185 Londoners.

The report, ‘Behind the Screen’, shows large disparities in the uptake of screening across London boroughs. Havering and Bexley have the highest uptake, while Westminster, Kensington & Chelsea, and Tower Hamlets have the lowest.

Older women in more affluent areas are most at risk of developing breast cancer, although survival rates are lower in more deprived areas.

source: PressZoom