Most British women are unaware that breast cancer risk increases with age, a poll suggests. A survey of 1,000 people by charity Breast Cancer Care found nearly six out of 10 women did not know getting older was a strong risk factor.

More than 44,000 people are diagnosed with breast cancer each year in the UK and 80% of all cases occur in over-50s.

Experts said many young women can worry unnecessarily while older women do not realise they are at risk.

The poll found that 58% did not know that the older they get, the higher their risk of breast cancer.

It’s extremely alarming that most women over 70 do not take up breast screening, as this increases the likelihood that any breast cancer they may develop is found at a later stage. Women aged 18-24 were better informed.

But 65% of women aged 45-54 knew there was a strong link between getting older and risk of the disease.

The charity said lack of knowledge was particularly concerning in those over the age of 70 years as a third did not believe it was necessary to check their breasts at that age.

And although most knew they had the right to request breast screening, only a quarter took up the opportunity.

Early detection

Christine Fogg, joint chief executive of Breast Cancer Care said: “The link between increasing age and breast cancer risk is well established yet these astonishing results reveal that the message is failing to reach the majority.

“It’s extremely alarming that most women over 70 do not take up breast screening, as this increases the likelihood that any breast cancer they may develop is found at a later stage, which could limit options and reduce the success of any treatment.

She called on the government and screening services to look at why the link to age is not well known.

Sara Hiom, director of health information at Cancer Research UK, said: “Confusion arises when celebrities like Kylie Minogue and Caron Keating, who have developed breast cancer, attract publicity in magazines read by young women.

“While it is helpful to raise awareness of the disease it can cause young women to worry unnecessarily. It may also mislead older women to think that ageing is not a factor in breast cancer.

“It is important to remember than four out of five cases are in women over 50. So it is extremely important for women in this age group to attend breast screening when invited.”

Carole Rawson, 67, was diagnosed with breast cancer in April following a routine screening appointment.

“I didn’t have a lump so would not have known I had anything wrong, and that could be the case for others.

“It’s not a case that if you haven’t got a lump then you don’t need to be screened.”

News Source:  BBC NEWS

GPs are writing prescriptions for the latest, most expensive antibiotics – ignoring cheaper and better options, say
researchers. The British Pharmaceutical Conference heard one in eight prescriptions in one area were for more modern drugs, often breaching guidelines.  Experts say these drugs should be held back as a “last line of defence” – to cut the risk of bacterial resistance.

Doctors’ leaders said there might be good reasons for GPs’ choices.  Doctors in both hospitals and GP surgeries are under great pressure to curb their antibiotic use, as over-use can lead to the development of “superbugs” resistant to all but a few modern drugs.

In recent years, new classes of powerful antibiotics have been developed to counter this threat, and guidelines say these should be used sparingly and only on certain conditions and where earlier antibiotics have failed.

Four out of five prescriptions for antibiotics are written in the GP surgery, and a team from Liverpool John Moores University wanted to check what they were using and how often.  They looked at computer records and found that 15% of all antibiotic prescriptions were for more modern, expensive drugs, and that guidelines designed to restrict their use were not being followed.

The problem with guidelines is that none of them perfectly fits every situation Dr Jim Kennedy, RCGP.  “The risks associated with this behaviour are that the drug may be unnecessary or inappropriate, increasing the potential of
resistance and increasing costs to the primary care trust.”

Dr Jim Kennedy, the Royal College of GPs Head of Prescribing, said that a more detailed picture of prescribing would be needed to identify a problem.  “We don’t know if this is a couple of rogue prescribers, or whether there were good reasons why the guidelines weren’t being followed.  “The problem with guidelines is that none of them perfectly fits every situation.”

He said that it was possible that the overall downward trend in antibiotic prescribing in recent years might mean that the appropriate use of stronger, modern antibiotics appeared to increase, as GPs continued to use these appropriately in the treatment of more serious bacterial infections.  Hospital overdose Another study presented to the conference in Manchester highlighted the difficulties faced by those trying to curb overuse of antibiotics – this time within hospitals.

We think that doctors are still being overcautious about the risk of hospital acquired infections Dr Rachel Etherington, Sunderland University RCGP Many patients undergoing surgery are given a handful of doses of antibiotics to cut their chances of developing an infection, but Sunderland University researchers found in 2005 that more than half were getting too many in nearby City Hospitals Sunderland.

One woman patient was reportedly given 81 doses of antibiotics rather than the three to five required.  The trust changed its electronic prescribing system so that doctors would have to write in a date past which no antibiotics would be given.  However, the conference was told that the result was that 74% of patients received too much antibiotic, rather than 55% before the change, as doctors allowed for too many days of treatment.

Lead researcher Dr Rachel Etherington: “We think that doctors are still being overcautious about the risk of hospital acquired infections – perhaps partly due to media coverage of ‘superbugs’.”

News Source:  BBC News