Experts have warned that an alarmingly high number or women with suspected breast cancer are not being treated quickly enough.
In 1999 the two week waiting rule was inroduced by the Department of Health to get women with urgent breast cancer cases seen by a GP and a consultant much quicker.
However the problem lies with those women who are classe as 'non urgent'. A study carried out by the Frenchay Breast Care Centre in Bristol have discovered that these women with 'non urgent' cases are being forced to wait longer than a fortnight for a consultation.
The study of 24,999 referals to the Frenchy clinic between 1999 and 2005 discovered that while the number of patients being referred under the two week rule increased, the number of women diagnosed with cancer fell from 12.8% to just 7.7%.
But for those with non urgent breast cancer while the number of non urgent cases fell the percentage of those with cancer had more than double to 5.3%.
Breast cancer is the fifth most common type of cancer and the most common cancer amongst women.
The chances of developing breast cancer increases with age and doubles ever ten years. However only a quarter of all the breast cancer cases are in women under the age of 50.
Half of the cases occur in women between the ages of 50 and 69 with the other quarter in women aged 70 or over.
Helen Earnshaw
Tagged in Breast Cancer