Breast cancer screening for older women with intellectual disability living in community group homes

Breast cancer is one of the commonest cancers to affect women. Present heal th service guidelines call for screening and mammography for all women aged between So and 65 years in an effort to increase early detection and impro ve survival rates. Nulliparity is one of the associated risk factors for br east cancer. Women with intellectual disability (ID) are increasing in long evity and are frequently nulliparous, and therefore, they are at increased risk of developing breast cancer. The aim of the present study was to revie w the uptake and knowledge of women with ID living in the community of brea st screening programmes. A postal survey of women aged greater than or equa l to So years with ID living in community group homes was used to gather da ta. Only one-third of the women carried out regular breast examination and a similar proportion had received invitations to mammography. General pract itioners and practice nurses were currently playing very minor roles in bre ast screening these women. Primary health care professionals may be missing opportunistic health promotion opportunities and the support services for women with ID living in the community could be provided with better trainin g and resources to improve breast cancer screening in this vulnerable group .