Breast cancer unit goes digital

The States says digital equipment will mean more efficient screening

Breast cancer patients are to benefit from a new unit at the Princess Elizabeth Hospital in Guernsey.

The digital mammography unit will improve screening and speed up cancer diagnosis, according to the States Health Department.

The electronic procedure will eventually replace the conventional x-ray equipment.

The Department of Health in the UK has recommended women under 50 should have access to digital screening by 2010.

The digital equipment will speed up examinations by allowing mammogram pictures to be available instantly.

In 2005, a study of nearly 50,000 women by the Digital Mammographic Imaging Screening Trial found digital mammography was a particularly useful screening tool for women under the age 50, women with dense breast tissue or those who have not gone through the menopause.

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