I want women's breast cancer referrals in a fortnight

Karen Edwards, of Barbourne, Worcester, went to the House of Commons as an advocate for Breakthrough Breast Cancer and urged the Government to keep a promise that by January 2010 all women with breast cancer symptoms see a specialist within two weeks.

Currently only women referred by their GP as urgent cases are guaranteed to see a specialist within two weeks. Many women are referred as non-urgent – or routine – and as a result can face an anxious wait of many weeks to find out whether they have breast cancer or not.

Studies have also shown that a significant number of women originally referred as routine are eventually diagnosed with breast cancer, demonstrating the importance of a two-week wait for all.

While in London Ms Edwards met with Worcester MP Mike Foster and spoke to him about the agonising wait women of all ages are going through.

She said: “Waiting for a breast cancer diagnosis, whatever the outcome, can be extremely distressing and while it is great news that nearly all women referred as urgent by their GP to a breast specialist are seen within two weeks, women who are referred as routine can wait much longer.

“The Government’s deadline is drawing closer. So as well as finding out from my local breast unit what steps they are taking to make the two-week wait for all a reality by January, I’m also taking this opportunity to ask Mike Foster to write to the Secretary of State for Health and ask that the non-urgent waiting times for breast cancer patients are published.

“Only then can we be reassured that the Government will fulfil its commitment on time.”

The Department of Health publishes breast cancer waiting times for urgent referrals four times a year. However, figures for routine referrals are not currently published at all.

Ms Edwards added without knowing these figures it is difficult for charities such as Breakthrough Breast Cancer to assess whether the NHS is on track to meet the two-week target.