About 1 million women in the U.K. missed breast screenings due to COVID-19, which means 8,600 women may have undetected breast cancer, according to an article published on 30 September by BBC News.
The charity Breast Cancer Now estimated that about 8,600 women who didn't get scans due to screening programs being placed on pause in March due to the pandemic. The figures are based on the average number of women screened per month, and the estimated length of time the screening program was suspended, in each part of the U.K.
Scanning programs are open again, but social distancing has cut capacity. Limited capacity, a significant backlog of women waiting to be screened, and others coming forward with possible symptoms has put pressure on the system. The charity is calling for a plan, new resources, and more radiologists to combat the problem.
"We desperately need more radiologists. You can't make a radiologist quickly, so a long-term investment plan is essential," Dr. Mary Wilson, a consultant breast radiologist at Nightingale Centre, Wythenshawe Hospital, said in the BBC story.
