Cypriot praise for breast clinic

Cypriot medical authorities yesterday praised Malta’s breast screening clinic and said they wanted to learn from the expertise offered.

The delegation from Cyprus visited the Valletta clinic following a meeting with Health Minister Joseph Cassar.

Among the delegation were Cyprus Health Ministry representative Pavlos Pavlou and Partassides Vayios, from the Cyprus Breast Screening Programme. The Valletta clinic was opened in October 2009. Statistics released a year later showed 68.8 per cent of women aged between 50 and 60 – a total of 7,076 – accepted the invitation to have their breasts checked for cancer. About 12 per cent of the women screened – 687 – were called a second time for further investigations and 45 of them were diagnosed with very early stages of cancer.