The NHS’s national cancer director, Dame Cally Palmer, said: “Breast screening detects breast cancers earlier and saves lives – but we know for many women there can be lots of reasons why they might be reluctant to come forward, or why it’s not top of the priority list in their very busy lives.
Now NHS England is attempting to increase attendance through a campaign supported by charities including Breast Cancer Now and Cancer Research UK, with celebrities, TV doctors, NHS staff and cancer survivors sharing open letters to women.
Women in England will be encouraged to attend potentially life-saving screenings for breast cancer in TV, radio and online adverts as part of the first NHS awareness campaign for the disease.
While breast screening levels in England are rising, they remain lower than before the pandemic, with data from NHS England released in October revealing uptake was 64.6% in 2022-23, compared with 71.1% in 2018-19.
The campaign builds on a new “ping and book” service in which women are alerted via the NHS app that they are due, or overdue, breast screening.
