The first session of an important Parliamentary inquiry into Breast Cancer and older people took place in the House of Commons on Tuesday 16th April.
The All Party Group on Breast Cancer is concerned that many older breast cancer patients are not receiving the same level of treatment and support experienced by younger patients with the same disease and is therefore holding an inquiry on this topic.
The inquiry will focus on three key areas, Breast cancer risk, awareness and early detection, Access to gold standard treatments and Access to information and support. The first session heard evidence from Anna Soubry MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Health, Professor Julietta Patnick, Director of NHS Cancer Screening Programmes, Dr Lindsay Forbes, Co-Director King's College London Promoting Early Cancer Presentation (PEP) Group and Amanda Boughey, Head of Health Evidence and Information, Cancer Research UK.
Speaking afterwards, Steve Brine, who co-chairs the All-Party Group, said: "The inquiry got off to a cracking start with the Minister and some excellent other guests who really framed the subject for us. The response in the room in terms of turnout and online via social media has been great which is hopefully a sign of things to come."
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Mark Darcy covered this for Radio 4 and you can access a recording of his piece here.