Council encourages women aged 50 to 71 to participate in breast cancer screening
ALMERIA, October 19 (EUROPE PRESS) –
Aransaso Martin, a delegate of the junta government in Almeria, called this Saturday on women aged 50 to 71 to take part in breast cancer screening on the occasion of World Day Against the Disease, which will take place on October 19.
As such, he stressed “the need to continue to advance research as it is being done, since it has been proven that cancer detected in time by existing medical advances should be cured,” according to a statement from the council.
In addition, he insisted on the “importance of periodic examinations, since prevention is the best treatment for this disease.” Martin explained that from January 2023 to the end of September 2024, the Andalusian health service carried out 617,833 mammograms, which identified 1,983 cases of cancer, as part of the Early Detection Program for Breast Cancer of the Ministry of Health and Consumer Affairs.
The delegate emphasized the value of the Program, which provides for mammography every two years for the entire target population (women aged 50 to 71 years) and whose main goal is to reduce mortality from this type of cancer, but in addition, it improves the quality of life diagnosed and treated women by identifying tumors at an early stage.
From January to September this year, a total of 1,470 breast reconstruction operations were carried out in Andalusia, where 98,511 active cases were treated last year. In 2023, 1,818 women used this SAS service, and in 2022, 1,797 women used this SAS service.
In total, according to the Council, 427,743 women were invited to participate, representing 58.28%.
At the end of April last year, the target group of these surveys was expanded to include women aged 70 to 71 years, so that the target group is now 50 to 71 years old.
Until August 2024, 25,999 women aged 70–71 years were called and 14,649 responded to the invitation by having a mammogram.
The goal is to gradually include lower age groups to expand coverage to women aged 47 to 49 years.
To this end, the Andalusian Health Service (SAS) is purchasing mammographs with tomosynthesis, a method that improves the detection and accuracy of diagnosis of breast tumors in the population under 50 years of age.
In 2023, 28 mammographs were purchased, 26 with tomosynthesis, for a total investment of EUR 7,334,910. In 2024, another 17 mammographs were purchased, all with tomosynthesis, for a total amount of EUR 3,338,946.65.
In addition, SAS is implementing a contract for breast cancer screening in mobile units, with an investment of €795,566.97 so far in 2024.
This year, mobile contract units conducted a total of 45,177 studies.
In parallel, work is underway on special training for radiologists in the interpretation of mammograms performed using tomosynthesis, with the goal of training 145 radiologists by the end of 2024.