There are currently 2,000 women on the waiting list for mammograms, with an estimated waiting time of 10 months for the least urgent cases, Social Policy Minister John Dalli told Labour MP Justyne Caruana in reply to a parliamentary question.

Most of the waiting cases were for screening mammograms that had been requested before October 2008.

Every request for a mammogram was vetted and given an appointment according to each case. New cases were checked as soon as possible, while follow-up mammograms on known cases of breast cancer were carried out at regular intervals. Since October 2008 the Medical Imaging Department of Mater Dei Hospital was offering a mammogram service only to those already presenting with symptoms. It was not a screening service.

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