Only a third of older women take up all the cancer screenings they are offered, a study has found.
Although virtually all women over the age of 60 had been screened for one or more cancers, the research showed that most had failed to take up at least one invitation from the NHS, leaving them at greater risk of death.
The findings, published in the Journal of Medical Screening, implied that very few refused screenings on principle, but many still missed them, possibly simply through carelessness. Women are routinely screened for breast, cervical and bowel cancer. The three screening programmes target different age groups, but they all overlap between 60 and 65, meaning that women can expect to receive a screening invitation roughly every