Some 1,700 women in Ireland contract breast cancer annually and the number is rising, figures showed today.
Cases were at an all-time high due to an increasing and ageing population. The Minister for Health Mr Martin has announced that €20 million will be spent rolling out a national BreastCheck programme to ensure early detection of the disease.
And the Irish Cancer Society said the expanded screening plan was the first step in protecting and offering new hope to thousands of people around the country.
"Programmes such as BreastCheck have significantly reduced deaths from breast cancer in other countries," a spokeswoman for the charity said. Figures from the National Cancer Registry Ireland showed the number of breast cancer cases had risen from 1,530 in 1994 to 1,890 in 2000.
The average number of annual cases over the period was 1,630. With the breast cancer detection programme extended to both the South and West it will be expected to discover 315 cancers per year during the first phase.
An awareness fortnight is currently trying to raise much-needed funds for cancer research in the Republic. Ballet Lingerie breast awareness and breast cancer fortnight promises to donate two euro from every Ballet bra sold in Ireland to cancer charities.
Ms Liz McManus, Labour Party health spokeswoman, said promoting awareness was one thing, providing access was another. "Anything that promotes awareness of breast cancer is a good thing," Ms McManus said.
"The difficulty is that it's easy for breast cancer screening to alert people to it, but if you can't access services then what do you do? "They should be trying to ensure the delivery of services. It's very frustrating to not be able to get access."
Women can have a breast check done privately for about €120 euro, and have the results in four days, but campaigners warned that not everyone could afford it.
Some 78 per cent of women aged between 50 and 64 have taken up the offer of free mammograms under the BreastCheck programme in the East, North-East and Midlands.
It is estimated that there are more than 70,000 women in the catchment area who will be offered breast screenings, with over 35,000 women checked each year. Action Breast Cancer, a project of the Irish Cancer Society, runs a Freephone Helpline - 1800 30 90 40 - staffed by specialist cancer nurses who offer information, support and appropriate referral.