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FIFTEEN women from the
Donegal Travellers' Project will travel to Belfast
today for mammograms with Action Cancer Northern
Ireland.
The visit is part of the Donegal Travellers' Project
ongoing primary health care programme and the HSE's
bid to reduce the mammogram waiting list in the
county.
The Donegal Travellers' Project will give a nominal
donation to Action Cancer for the fifteen
mammograms.
Angela O‘Leary, one of the team who organised the
event said it was the first time a group of
Traveller women had used the cross-border service.
"It saddens us to see that these services are not
available here on our doorstep. This type of service
should be available locally for all women over 40.
Mammograms lead to early detection and save lives,"
said Ms. O'Leary.
One of the women making the journey on Monday added:
"I would never have known about the service except
that the primary health care project came out to
visit me. Also, I don’t drive and I'm delighted to
be going as part of a group from my own community. "
Other recent Donegal Travellers' Project initiatives
on women’s health include talks on the importance of
breast checks and self examination. In April,
cholesterol screening, blood sugar and heart checks
will be carried out on Traveller women in the
Letterkenny area.
Meanwhile, primary health care project co-ordinator,
Paula Leonard said the group would continue to lobby
for better health services for all women in the
county.
Citing early detection as crucial to breast cancer
survival rates, Ms. Leonard said the lack of
screening in Donegal was "quite literally, a matter
of life and death". |
