Free breast cancer screenings lead to 11,000 diagnoses of malignancies

Since the rollout of free screenings in 2002, some 11,000 Hungarian women have been diagnosed with malignant breast tumours, the healthcare state secretariat of the Human Resources Ministry told MTI on Saturday.

Some 6,600 new cases of breast cancer are diagnosed every year, and about 2,000 women die from the disease, the state secretariat said.

Each year, around 550,000 women between the ages of 45 and 65 are sent notices to get a mammogram.

The ministry aims to raise the percentage of those women who eventually go to screenings over 70pc, in line with international standards.