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A new study involving patients from north east London is looking at how to make breast screening more comfortable, so more people feel able to attend their appointments.

Breast screening can find cancers early, when treatment is more effective. But some people find the procedure uncomfortable or painful, and fear of pain is one of the main reasons people don’t attend.

Researchers at Queen Mary University of London will speak to women from different ethnic backgrounds in north east London — including patients who use our Barts Health hospitals — to understand their experiences of pain during screening. They will also work with breast screening staff to identify practical ways to make mammograms more comfortable.

The team will use this insight to design new training for screening staff, helping people feel more relaxed, informed, and in control.

Dr Judith Offman, researcher from Queen Mary University of London, said: "We know that breast screening can save lives. However, not everyone attends when invited, and uptake is lower in more deprived and ethnically diverse areas.

"We want to bring in the voices of women from different ethnic backgrounds to understand how they experience pain during mammograms and to find ways to make screening more comfortable for all women."

Breast screening prevents around 1,300 deaths every year in the UK, but attendance is lower in more deprived and diverse communities, including our London boroughs. This study, funded by the charity Breast Cancer Now, aims to tackle those inequalities and ensure more women feel able to attend this life-saving service.

The importance of this work was highlighted on BBC Radio London, which broadcast live from St Bartholomew’s Hospital on Friday 28 November, including interviews with researchers, clinicians and patients about the study and why some women do not attend their appointments.

Paula, 57, from north London, postponed her breast screening for six months in 2020 due to the pandemic. She was called back in with invasive lobular breast cancer.

The cancer had no symptoms but could be detected through a mammogram.

She told BBC London: "After gently examining me, the surgeon commented that the areas of cancer were barely palpable to him and that I was so lucky that I went for my mammogram.

"My mammogram probably saved my life. Had I not rebooked and just waited for the next call up, my story would be very different."

Dr Tamara Suaris, consultant radiologist at St Bartholomew's Hospital, discussed the screening process and how better support can help manage anxieties.

She said: "Everyone will experience a mammogram in a different way.

"The technician will help to support you through the procedure and they will be trying to take it at your speed.

"The compression is applied slowly to a point that a patient can tolerate, and it won't be applied to very long - just a few seconds."

Last month, Barts Health announced plans for a new breast cancer centre of excellence at St Bartholomew’s Hospital.

The £16.6 million development, funded by Barts Charity, will bring faster diagnosis, safer surgery, and fairer access to advanced treatment and reconstruction for women across north east London, where survival rates are currently the lowest in the country.

Read more

• Study examines why breast screening rates are low (BBC News)
• London researchers tackle barriers to breast screening attendance (Breast Cancer Now)
• East London to get dedicated breast cancer centre