Chelmsford's breast screening service is celebrating its tenth anniversary - and it has come a long way since being sited in an X-ray department behind the former Chelmsford and Essex hospital.

The screening service spread its wings and moved into the main building, the Chelmsford and Essex centre, in 1991 following a campaign by Mid Essex Community Health Council, backed by the Essex Chronicle.

Chronicle readers also helped to raise £20,000 for an ultrasound machine for the unit.

Over the past ten years thousands of women have undergone breast screening here.

Now the unit has been refurbished and improvements include a new reception area, three additional clinical examination areas, a larger teaching and multi-disciplinary area and a more spacious waiting area.

All outpatient breast care services, including the screening programme, prosthetic work, a rapid diagnosis clinic, a lymphodaema and a family history clinic are now centralised at the site.

Inpatient work is carried out at Broomfield Hospital, where the recent addition of the plastic surgery at the new St Andrews centre has greatly enhanced breast cancer surgery and reconstructive work.

Barbara Daws, breast care health promotion adviser, said: "It is important to emphasise that the unit is not just for breast cancer, it is for other breast care issues, too, such as breast pain which can have various causes.

"Many women are apprehensive about breast screening and are extremely worried if they are recalled for a second screening, but only a very few of those recalled will be diagnosed as having breast cancer."

The Chelmsford service is run in conjunction with the service in Colchester and the combined figures for last year show that of the 19,000 women screened 880 were called back for a second assessment and just 113 were diagnosed as having cancer.

Women aged 50 to 64 are automatically called for screening under the national programme and women over 65 encouraged to refer themselves.

To help dispel some of the fear surrounding screening and give details about breast care, information evenings are planned for the autumn.

"They will be free for women of any age," said Barbara."We hope the information will cascade through families."

Places can be booked by calling 01245 513335.

Details about the breast screening programme are on 01206 544776.

Staff at work at the breast screening unit in Chelmsford.

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