Baroness Delyth Morgan comments following today’s story about breast cancer cases in older women set to rise by 2040.

“The news story today relates to research that confirms expectations that the number of older women living with breast cancer will increase. As the story suggests, one consequence of this prediction is that access to treatments and surgery for older women with breast cancer will continue to be a problem, an issue that was also highlighted by a report published yesterday by the Royal College of Surgeons and Age UK.

“However, the good news is that the recent age discrimination regulations mean that it is now illegal for the NHS to decide treatment options purely on the basis of a patient’s age. It is therefore important that older breast cancer patients and their families are aware of this and challenge a decision if they believe it was based solely on their age.

“In the meantime, Breast Cancer Campaign is currently funding research which is looking specifically into how to provide the best treatment options for older patients, by understanding how decisions are made about surgery and also by attempting to assess a person’s ‘biological age’ for their suitability for treatments.”