Cancer patient's call to lower breast screening age to 30

A WOMAN battling an incurable form of breast cancer is campaigning for the mandatory breast cancer screening age to be slashed to 30.

Susan Grimshaw (47, pictured) has collected almost 5,000 names on a petition demanding the Government lower from 50 the age mammograms are offered.

The campaign is a personal one for Susan, of Bondfield Crescent, Wombwell, after she was diagnosed with the disease at 46.

“More and more woman are being diagnosed with breast cancer before they reach the age of 50, so an earlier screening is definitely something that needs to be looked into and addressed — it’s better to be safe than sorry,” she said. 

Susan said receiving the news from doctors last October after finding a lump in a breast had come as “a complete shock”.

She added: “I had been feeling absolutely fine and had no other symptoms, so the news came as a complete shock — I was gobsmacked as I thought it was just a fatty mass at the time.

After finding the lump, it only took 12 days for the doctor to confirm her cancer diagnosis — but in another blow, a second smaller lump was found under her arm — confirming she had secondary cancer, which causes the disease to spread to the lungs and bones. 

“When breast cancer has spread, I was told it’s classed as being incurable — but it can be managed with medication,” Susan added.

She has since been to a breast cancer support group herself and discovered she was one of the oldest there with the disease.

Determined to take action to help more younger women, Susan set up a petition appealing to the Government to lower the screening age from 50 to 30.

It closes in July and needs a minimum of 10,000 before the Government will respond. 

Susan said she was “really pleased” at the amount of signatures the petition had received so far but called for more supporters to add their names at https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/237184.

As for her own health battle, she is now awaiting the results ofa scan to determine how far the cancer has spread, so doctors can recommend the appropriate course of treatment.

“I am feeling as positive as I can be at the moment and generally, I am feeling really well,” Susan added. “I am determined to not let it get me down.