A BreastCheck mobile unit is currently located on the grounds of Sligo Rovers Football Club, providing free breast screening to women. Most women are automatically registered with BreastCheck and are invited by age 52 or 53.

Dr Alissa Connors, BreastCheck Lead Clinical Director, said: “Breast screening can save lives. It looks for early signs of breast cancer, when it is too small to see or feel, when treatment is usually most effective.

“To make sure we use every appointment slot, we’re asking women to take a few simple steps to help us to help them. If you can’t attend your appointment, let us know – your slot can be offered to someone else. If Sligo town doesn’t suit, call us on the number on your appointment letter and we will aim to rearrange screening in another unit.

“We can also offer longer appointments or support for people who have extra needs. If you are aged 53 to 69 and have never been to BreastCheck before, give us a call — if we have cancellations, we can fit you in. Any questions at all, just call us.”

BreastCheck offers a screening mammogram (an x-ray of the breast) to women aged 50-69 around every 2 years. Some women are 53 when they get their first invite, it depends on when we are next screening in your area. Most women get a normal mammogram result but a small number – 1 in 20 – are invited back to BreastCheck assessment clinics for more tests. Seven out of every 50 women called to assessment will be offered treatment for breast cancer.

If someone is experiencing symptoms, they are asked to contact their GP and not come for screening.

Symptoms include:

  • a new lump or area of thickened tissue in either breast
  • a change in the size or shape of one or both breasts
  • bloodstained discharge from either of your nipples
  • a lump or swelling in either of your armpits
  • dimpling on the skin of your breasts
  • a rash on or around your nipple
  • a change in how your nipple looks, such as sunken into your breast.

Gráinne Gleeson, BreastCheck Programme Manager, said: “Since we began breast screening in Ireland, we have provided over 2.5 million mammograms. Ireland’s population is growing, with 100,000 more women eligible for BreastCheck today than six years ago. To meet the challenge this brings, we continue to expand access to screening through innovation and prioritise those waiting longest.

“We aim to offer women an appointment for her first screening test by age 52 – in some cases 53. It depends on when we are screening in her area.

“Most women – 7 in 10 – are being offered their breast screen within our target time of approximately every two years. We know some are waiting longer than 2 years and we are prioritising those who have not been screened before and those who are waiting longest. We’re putting on extra screening sessions and recruiting more staff to get to everyone as quickly as possible.

“We provide a holistic end-to-end service for women coming for screening, through assessment and on to treatment if needed. Our breast screening service is accredited to the highest quality standard by the European breast screening quality assurance body, EUREF. This year we will screen over 170,000 women and uptake remains strong at 72% in 2024, above our 70% target.”

To check the BreastCheck register, visit hse.ie/breastcheck or call 1800 45 55 55.