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This petition is now closed, as its deadline has passed.
We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to instruct the Secretary of State for Health to order a research programme into mammograms (and other cancer screening) which detect PRE-cancerous cells. More details
Submitted by Margaret King – Deadline to sign up by: 18 January 2008 – Signatures: 3
More details from petition creator
Cervical smears already detect pre-cancerous cells which means that women found to have such cells in their cervix can have them removed, in a fairly un-traumatic operation, before they become cancerous (I've experienced this twice). As a woman I am, of course, mainly concerned with female cancers; I understand that mammograms can only detect that cancer has already developed leaving women possibly having to endure such gruelling treatments as chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy. Some women (including me!) might be so unable, on a level of being able to cope with physical pain or (as I understand) extreme discomfort, to contemplate such treatment that they would either not attend a scheduled mammogram or decide, if the worst came to the worst, that they didn't have the courage (as I'm CERTAIN I wouldn't) to go through with this treatment; in which case, presumably, they'd DIE. If mammograms, and other cancer screening, could detect PRE-cancerous cells, like cervical smears, all this suffering would be unnecessary (and might even save the N.H.S. money).
