Elderly women denied NHS cancer treatment’ claims East London MP

ELDERLY women being denied proper breast cancer treatment have won backing from an East London MP. Leyton’s Harry Cohen is to “fight inequality in the NHS” after hearing mounting evidence that older patients did not have equal access to treatment

ELDERLY women being denied proper breast cancer treatment have won backing from an East London MP.

Leyton’s Harry Cohen made his commitment “to fight inequality in the NHS” after hearing what he said was mounting evidence that older patients did not have equal access to treatment.

“Ensuring all patients in East London get fair treatment regardless of age is an important issue,” he said. “Anyone who feels they did not receive full access to treatment because of age should get in touch with me.”

He joined a campaign launched this week by the charity Breakthrough Breast Cancer which is highlighting those women it says have been denied treatment in radiotherapy, chemotherapy and surgery over the last 10 years that has improved survival chances of younger patients.

Women over 80 are 40 times less likely to receive surgery than younger patients, says the charity. Older women are also less likely to receive breast-conserving surgery or chemo chemotherapy and radiotherapy, it has found.

A third of all breast cancers occur in women aged 70 and over, the charity points out. Experts predict a rise from nearly 46,000 women today to 57,000 by 2024, an increase of a fifth in the next 14 years.