The North-East has one of the highest rates of breast cancer in the UK. Health Editor Barry Nelson meets Dr Linsley Lunt, a consultant radiologist who is passionate about persuading more women to help themselves.

DRAMATIC improvements in the way breast cancer is treated have boosted the survival rate beyond recognition in the past decade or so. That’s why it is even more important these days for doctors to be able to diagnose breast cancer as early as possible.

Very simply, the earlier the diagnosis, the better the outlook for the patient. This is the message that Dr Linsley Lunt, a consultant radiologist at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Gateshead, is desperate to get across to North-East women.

It is particularly relevant here in the region because, despite improvements, we still have the highest rates of breast cancer in England.

“The first thing to say is that women are getting better and better at getting themselves checked out, but there is still room for improvement,” says Dr Lunt, who chairs the North of England Cancer Network’s breast cancer group. “I have been doing this job for 22 years. When I started, I regularly used to see cancers that were so advanced that they had actually broken through the skin. Thankfully, that is very, very unusual now.”

She says a combination of higher scanning rates and women being more aware of the need to check for signs of breast cancer had both contributed to reducing the number of deaths.

“We are seeing breast cancer earlier and earlier.

We have made huge progress in improving survival rates. We can also do less aggressive, less damaging surgery and achieve better cosmetic results after surgery.”

Dr Lunt says that while breast cancer predominantly occurs in older women, younger women are not exempt. “It is true that breast cancer is extremely rare under 30, but young women should be getting into good habits in terms of self examination.”

She advises women to spend a bit of time looking at their breasts in the mirror to see if there are any noticeable changes. “You don’t need to do it too often, but they should examine their breasts at least once a month. If you are pre-menopausal you should do this after your period,” she says.

“Either in the shower or lying in bed, you should feel with the flat of your hand for any lumps or bumps. Essentially, what you are looking for is any change in the shape of the breast, any puckering of the skin. You are looking for any change in the nipple, especially if you are getting blood or any other discharge from the nipple.”

However, women should not be frightened that any abnormality is automatically cancer.

“Anything unusual they find could be to do with something else and nothing to do with cancer. Actually it is much more likely not to be cancer,” says Dr Lunt.

Her message is straightforward: “You need to get it checked out straight away. There is no need to take any kind of a risk.”

APART from regular self-examination, she says women should always attend for breast screening if they are invited by their local hospital.

About one in four women fail to turn up to a prebooked screening session, which is a waste of money for the NHS and potentially dangerous for women who go on to develop undetected breast cancer.

“Non-attendance is a huge issue for us,” says Dr Lunt, who is director of the Gateshead Breast Screening Programme. “We know it is not exactly comfortable, but it really only takes a few seconds.

The whole point of screening for breast cancer is that some women will be developing the disease but be unaware of it. It does not have symptoms for a very long time. You will be feeling well and unaware of a breast lump for years and years, but screening will pick it up and allow us to start treatment as soon as possible.”

There is a tendency for some women to think that they are just too busy to take time out to have a scan, but Dr Lunt says they should think again.

“Women are often juggling with lots of responsibilities, work, children, elderly parents, but they should never think that they are so busy that they can’t be spared for a few hours.”

She says what is heartbreaking for doctors is to see a woman with a serious, well-established cancer which could have been treated earlier if it had been detected sooner.

“Unfortunately, this still happens three or four times a year and that is three or four too many,” says Dr Lunt.