20 year salute to our leading breast cancer screening team

Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust celebrated the 20th anniversary of its life saving breast screening programme at the end of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Across the past two decades, the trust has screened more than 200,000 women and detected around 2,000 cancers.
Their unit is now one of the highest-performing in the Southwest and consistently earns commendations from regulators for its outstanding work.

Breast screening programme director, Dr Katie Giles, gave a speech at the event acknowledging the gains that have been made as a result of local and national medical efforts.

“In most cases, breast cancers identified through the breast screening programme are detected when they are at a very early stage or a very small size,” said Dr Giles.

“Early diagnosis means earlier treatment, better outcomes, and improved survival rates. Since the 1970s, deaths from breast cancer have decreased by 40 per cent in the UK. While some of this will be due to better treatments and technologies, the introduction of a countrywide screening programme in 1988 will have contributed to this reduction significantly.”

Dr Giles also expressed her gratitude for the “unwavering support” from the Torbay Hospital League of Friends, whose volunteering efforts have helped the unit purchase expensive and vital breast screening equipment.
The trust operates a mobile unit and team of mammographers who set up outside leisure centres, other healthcare facilities, and in supermarket car parks to offer people initial screenings within the community.

Dr Giles described the recent opening of their new mobile unit as a standout moment during her time on the programme.
She said: “I was really proud when we opened our new van earlier this year. We invited lots of people to come and share in our excitement, and I really feel that this filtered through the community.

“We were able to share the positive message of coming for your breast screening, staying breast aware, and giving yourself the best possible chance of staying healthy or having early intervention if needed.”

When asked about common fears people express about coming for a mammogram, Dr Giles mentioned concerns about pain.

She explained: “I think there is a historical anxiety about it being painful, but because equipment has moved on so significantly since the early days, the actual process of taking a mammogram is a lot quicker and simpler than it was previously. There’s now only a tiny percentage of people that report being a little bit uncomfortable at most.”

The event also included a cake cutting by Sue Boal, a retired teacher and the first ever person to be screened by the programme when it launched in 2004.

Sue said: “I knew how important it was going to be, and sure enough, I’ve picked up my breast screening every three years right up until this spring and will continue to do so because it’s so important.

“I’ve lost people I’ve loved to breast cancer; I think everybody has. It’s really important to catch it early. It’s not a pleasant experience; you can’t say it's fun, but the people here certainly have always been so kind and friendly that they make the best of it.

“If it’s caught early, then it's easily remedied. It’s always better to know and to have the treatment. I had a lump; it wasn’t a serious one. It was nothing at all. But it was taken seriously, investigated, sorted out, and I was discharged with no adverse effects at all. They’re very discreet here, and there's nothing to fear.”

Annie Walker, a former actor who routinely attends her screening, is doing her bit to raise awareness about what mammograms involve.

After learning that the unit is redoing its online awareness video for the 20th anniversary, Annie volunteered her acting skills by offering to feature in the video.

Annie commented: “You hear horror stories. If you’ve never had a mammogram before, it's natural to feel worried. It isn’t comfortable, but it’s so worthwhile. It’s something that is so much better to catch early than when it's too late. And we all know that with any form of cancer, the sooner you catch it, the better your chances of recovery.”

In the last 20 years, the trust has recruited more specialists, completed onsite training, introduced new medical treatments and technologies like tomography, enhanced its surgical breast reconstruction opportunities, and safely reduced the amount of surgery undertaken in the armpit and the number of radiography treatments.

Dr Giles concluded: “We have much to celebrate, and I am so pleased to see you all today, but we must continue to keep up the hard work for our community and loved ones. The national screening service has set us the target of increasing uptake of our screening from 70 to 80 per cent by 2028, so we are certainly going to be busy.”