Breast cancer has a major impact on the lives of individuals it affects. Unfortunately it is now the most common cancer in women in the UK, with one in nine women diagnosed and occasionally some men too. Early detection and treatment of this disease can enable patients to resume a normal life.

The very busy team at Southend Hospital Breast Care Unit screen approximately 22,000 women each year and see a further 2,700 patients referred by their GP, of which approximately 450 will be diagnosed with cancer.


We want to give patients the best possible chance of surviving breast cancer. That’s why Southend Hospital Charitable Foundation is joining forces with Bosom Pals patient support group to raise money to improve screening services at the hospital.

We need your support to raise £750,000 towards this ambitious project. This will enable us to buy two full field digital mammography machines and associated I.T. equipment. This improved technology will help to provide shorter examination times, better technique and image quality – helping to detect early and small cancers.

The appeal will also fund improvements to the Breast Care Unit, including enhancements to the patient environment and new screening and treatment technology.


There are various tests used to detect breast cancer, the most common being the mammogram. This uses x-rays to image the breast tissue and demonstrate areas of abnormality. Any areas of concern are then examined with ultrasound and abnormal areas are sampled using a needle biopsy.

The current mammography machines will need replacing within the next few years with state of the art digital units which use lower dose radiation x-rays to give the mammogram picture. The digital mammography machine helps the radiologists to see even more detailed images of breast tissue which can be manipulated in 3-D to focus on specific areas. This improved image quality will mean better screening for all women but particularly those with denser breasts such as younger women.

The NHS Breast Screening Programme will extend the age range of women eligible for breast screening to ages 47 to 73 by 2012. The Breast Unit currently serves a screening population of 84,000 women each year – this will rise to 116,000 women with the introduction of the new age range.

To meet the increasing demands for more mammograms, the planned age range extension, and to maintain the state-of-the-art facilities at the breast care unit we need two new digital mammography machines.

To download the Bosom Pals Appeal leaflet please click here

For further information about the Bosom Pals Appeal please contact:

Department of Fundraising, The Lodge, Southend University Hospital Tel 01702 385337 or email fundraising@southend.nhs.uk