New trailers improve breast screening

Nearly two decades after being diagnosed with breast cancer following a routine mammogram in Southport, Marina Dalglish showed her support and officially opened a breast screening trailer on the same site.

The Liverpool, Sefton and Knowsley breast screening service (LSKBSS), provided by LUHFT, has replaced mobile trailers in Houghton Street, Southport, and at St Chad’s Centre, Kirkby, with new state-of-the-art facilities designed to help increase uptake of mammograms in the region.

Marina, who has raised millions of pounds over the years to support cancer patients in Merseyside through the Marina Dalglish Appeal, said that attending her breast screening appointment saved her life.

Marina said: “I remember receiving the letter in the post and joking with my friends saying ‘the cheek of it’ - I wasn’t long past turning 49! I went for my mammogram but then received another letter saying I needed further tests and a biopsy. I still thought no, it can’t be anything to worry about as I didn’t have a lump, but back then I didn’t know any of the other symptoms to look out for.”

Early detection of breast cancer means patients are far more likely to survive and less likely to require invasive treatment. For Marina, it was just a few weeks later she had a double mastectomy at Aintree University Hospital.

The new trailers now feature wi-fi availability, which means there is the option for the instant transfer of images for radiographers to look at, if a prompt review is needed. It means that assistant practitioners can carry out mammograms without radiographers needing to be present - potentially increasing the number of patients that can be seen.

Staff can also now check a patients’ earlier scan on the trailer, alerting them to any previous issues.

Together with colleagues, Ms Anu Shrotri, Director of Breast Screening and Consultant Breast Surgeon, and Wendy Thompson, Screening Programme Manager, have been leading on getting the new scanners in place and it is hoped that by making screening more convenient it will increase uptake, which in Liverpool is lower than the national average.

Ms Shrotri said: “The uptake of breast screening in Liverpool is low for a combination of reasons; factors include economic deprivation, with some women having difficulty travelling to the screening sites, and language and cultural barriers in ethnic minority populations preventing women from understanding the importance of screening.

“To encourage more women to attend their screening appointments, together with the Liverpool Primary Care Network (PCN) we have been training community volunteers to take these messages into minority communities. We’re hoping to run more workshops so that women can take these vital messages into their local communities and raise awareness of the importance of breast screening.”