Health Screening Programmes
Dail Éireann — 2026-09-23
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Natasha Newsome Drennan (SF), Carlow-Kilkenny

I know a woman in my community who found a lump. She went to her GP straight away. She did everything right. She got her referral for an appointment but had to wait seven weeks to be seen, only to be told then that she needed an urgent ultrasound and a mammogram but would have to wait three to four months. This was despite the presence of the lump and a history of breast cancer in her family. Her own sister had it at 36. That should be setting off alarm bells. Four months later, she got her scan and a biopsy and received a positive diagnosis of breast cancer. She has dense breast tissue and needs an MRI scan as a result. First, she was told it would take two to three weeks. A day later, she got a phone call and was told she would be waiting another eight weeks. That is over six months of waiting that this woman has had to endure, all while the cancer is growing. How is it acceptable to leave a woman waiting like that for an urgent scan? The woman, Linda, would like to ask why she is in this situation and how many more women are just like her.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-09-23/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-28T05:50:49+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-09-23