Chamber
Plenary, 06 Oct 1999
06 Oct 1999 · S1 · Plenary
Item of business
Breast Cancer
I thank Pauline McNeill and Margaret Curran for raising this important issue.
Some years ago, I became one of the many women to go through a breast cancer scare and I know how petrified with terror such women feel. However, we have to stop scaring women away from tests by making them aware of the vital statistic that there is only a one in nine chance of having a malignancy. I was indeed one of the women who did not have a malignancy—I had a blocked milk duct from having far too many babies in too short a time. When I heard the news, I positively skipped down Great Western Road and promised to be angelic for the rest of my life, which was a promise that did not last long. We need to get across the message that women must have those tests with as much confidence as possible.
The Parliament should consider how little it costs to save a woman's life and how saving a woman can very often save a whole family. Often these days, that woman might also be the family's sole breadwinner. It costs about £7,000 to treat each woman with breast cancer from diagnosis to hospitalisation, and unfortunately sometimes to hospice care as well. The Parliament has to get its priorities right. There appears to be plenty of money for certain things. For example, it will cost £100,000 a year to provide secure psychiatric treatment at a planned special unit at Stobhill hospital in Glasgow. Local people have complained about the unit, and the other night I attended a protest meeting in Springburn about the matter. I repeat: it costs £7,000 to treat a woman with breast cancer compared with £100,000 for a patient in a so-called mini-Carstairs in Glasgow. We have to invest more in innocent women.
The same Greater Glasgow Health Board has one of the worst survival rates in Europe for breast cancer; taken over a five-year term, the figure for the greater Glasgow area is 72 per cent. In Lothians, there is a more than 76 per cent survival rate at five years, and Fife—which used to be a very bad survival area—has improved dramatically with a 79 per cent survival rate. That is postcode medicine, but this time not for poor areas, but for whole health board areas.
Scotland has a severe shortage of experienced radiologists; if one retires, it is difficult to find a trained senior replacement. Furthermore, about a third of the radiology equipment in Scottish hospitals is more than 10 years old. That is not good enough. We compare badly not only with other European countries, but with Canada and Australia. In Scotland, more than 15,000 women of all ages have the disease and, as we heard, 3,000 new cases are treated each year.
Sometimes the victims are very young. I remember Bernadette Mowbray, the wife of the footballer Tony Mowbray. Very gallantly, Tony helped me to launch Breast Cure Scotland three years ago. His bride was only 26 years old when she died. At an age when Bernadette and Tony should have been out shopping for furniture for their first home, poor Tony Mowbray was out shopping for that young woman's coffin.
We must all pay tribute to Audrey Jones, the gallant campaigner from East Lothian, who started a great patient-led movement to invest charitable money. We must back that campaign. Since she was diagnosed as having breast cancer six years ago, Audrey Jones has raised a fortune. The Parliament has a great chance to offer women a better future. Please do not let us cheat and shortchange our women.
Some years ago, I became one of the many women to go through a breast cancer scare and I know how petrified with terror such women feel. However, we have to stop scaring women away from tests by making them aware of the vital statistic that there is only a one in nine chance of having a malignancy. I was indeed one of the women who did not have a malignancy—I had a blocked milk duct from having far too many babies in too short a time. When I heard the news, I positively skipped down Great Western Road and promised to be angelic for the rest of my life, which was a promise that did not last long. We need to get across the message that women must have those tests with as much confidence as possible.
The Parliament should consider how little it costs to save a woman's life and how saving a woman can very often save a whole family. Often these days, that woman might also be the family's sole breadwinner. It costs about £7,000 to treat each woman with breast cancer from diagnosis to hospitalisation, and unfortunately sometimes to hospice care as well. The Parliament has to get its priorities right. There appears to be plenty of money for certain things. For example, it will cost £100,000 a year to provide secure psychiatric treatment at a planned special unit at Stobhill hospital in Glasgow. Local people have complained about the unit, and the other night I attended a protest meeting in Springburn about the matter. I repeat: it costs £7,000 to treat a woman with breast cancer compared with £100,000 for a patient in a so-called mini-Carstairs in Glasgow. We have to invest more in innocent women.
The same Greater Glasgow Health Board has one of the worst survival rates in Europe for breast cancer; taken over a five-year term, the figure for the greater Glasgow area is 72 per cent. In Lothians, there is a more than 76 per cent survival rate at five years, and Fife—which used to be a very bad survival area—has improved dramatically with a 79 per cent survival rate. That is postcode medicine, but this time not for poor areas, but for whole health board areas.
Scotland has a severe shortage of experienced radiologists; if one retires, it is difficult to find a trained senior replacement. Furthermore, about a third of the radiology equipment in Scottish hospitals is more than 10 years old. That is not good enough. We compare badly not only with other European countries, but with Canada and Australia. In Scotland, more than 15,000 women of all ages have the disease and, as we heard, 3,000 new cases are treated each year.
Sometimes the victims are very young. I remember Bernadette Mowbray, the wife of the footballer Tony Mowbray. Very gallantly, Tony helped me to launch Breast Cure Scotland three years ago. His bride was only 26 years old when she died. At an age when Bernadette and Tony should have been out shopping for furniture for their first home, poor Tony Mowbray was out shopping for that young woman's coffin.
We must all pay tribute to Audrey Jones, the gallant campaigner from East Lothian, who started a great patient-led movement to invest charitable money. We must back that campaign. Since she was diagnosed as having breast cancer six years ago, Audrey Jones has raised a fortune. The Parliament has a great chance to offer women a better future. Please do not let us cheat and shortchange our women.
In the same item of business
The Presiding Officer (Sir David Steel):
NPA
We now move to members' business and motion S1M-162 in the name of Pauline McNeill on the subject of breast cancer. The debate will last for 30 minutes. Memb...
Motion debated,
That the Parliament notes that breast cancer is the most commonly occurring cancer amongst women in Scotland; notes that early detection has saved many lives...
Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab):
Lab
I have lodged this motion because this is our first meeting in October and October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The pink ribbon and its tartan counterpa...
Irene McGugan (North-East Scotland) (SNP):
SNP
Pauline McNeill is to be commended for bringing this matter to the attention of the Parliament, as are the organisers of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. In Sc...
Ms Margaret Curran (Glasgow Baillieston) (Lab):
Lab
From Ruth Picardie's moving columns in The Observer to our everyday experiences, we are becoming aware of the reality of breast cancer and the key issues tha...
Mrs Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD):
LD
I welcome the opportunity, as previous speakers have, to highlight the impact of breast cancer on the health of Scottish women. It impacts not only on women ...
Dr Richard Simpson (Ochil) (Lab):
Lab
I would like to offer a word of caution on the screening issue, which is not straightforward. Mass screening is not necessarily the answer for people over 65...
Mrs Smith:
LD
I take those comments on board. I think that what I did was to ask the minister to look at the issue. In September, the minister answered a written question ...
Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con):
Con
I concur with the points that Irene McGugan made on screening. I fall into the category where I do not get breast screening for several years. When I mention...
Malcolm Chisholm (Edinburgh North and Leith) (Lab):
Lab
Once again, one of the best and most important debates in the Parliament is taking place at the end of the day. The shocking figures about breast cancer have...
Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (SNP):
SNP
I thank Pauline McNeill and Margaret Curran for raising this important issue. Some years ago, I became one of the many women to go through a breast cancer sc...
Elaine Smith (Coatbridge and Chryston) (Lab):
Lab
I will keep my speech brief. I welcome the opportunity that Pauline McNeill has given us to raise awareness of breast cancer. Given that breast cancer is the...
Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP):
SNP
On Friday, in my constituency surgery in Fort William, I was consulted by a 35year- old woman who is suffering from breast cancer. She is brave woman, not on...
Maureen Macmillan (Highlands and Islands) (Lab):
Lab
Many of the points that I was going to make have been covered in the debate, but there are one or two that I want to add. First, genetic profiling could help...
Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP):
SNP
I did not intend to speak in this debate, but as we went along, I realised that I am one of those women who are over 50, who get the recall and who defer goi...
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Ms Patricia Ferguson):
Lab
As Christine's contribution was so brief, we can just about squeeze in one last speaker. I call Hugh Henry.
Hugh Henry (Paisley South) (Lab):
Lab
Like other members, I congratulate Pauline McNeill on her initiative in securing this debate and on her work. I am aware of some of the issues surrounding br...
The Deputy Presiding Officer:
Lab
I am conscious that this is a debate that many more members than usual have stayed behind for. If I closed the meeting now, I would be excluding one member w...
Dr Richard Simpson (Ochil) (Lab):
Lab
I will be very brief. Most of the points have already been made. I wanted to end on a good-news story. The west of Scotland breast screening service had come...
The Minister for Health and Community Care (Susan Deacon):
Lab
I have listened with great interest to the debate and will attempt to pick up some of the points that have been raised. The interest and participation that t...
The Deputy Presiding Officer:
Lab
I thank members for their co-operation this evening and I now close the meeting.
Meeting closed at 17:50.