A BREAST cancer patient has urged women to get themselves checked regularly, after a routine examination revealed a tumour.

Elaine Slaven, from Darlington, was diagnosed in June and had surgery to remove the one centimetre growth six weeks ago.

Relieved to have been given the all-clear, she is due to undergo a course of 15 radiotherapy sessions to ensure no cancerous cells remain.

Mrs Slaven, 60, said there was a thorough public information campaign warning women to check for a lump in their breast, but that is not the only form breast cancer can take.

She had no symptoms and it was the mammogram in June – routinely offered, by the NHS, every three years, to women aged over 50 – that effectively saved her life.

Mrs Slaven, who recently raised £300 with a coffee morning for the charity Breast Cancer Campaign, said: "I felt perfectly well and have never had any ill health, so I wanted to make other women aware how important it is to go for these routine mammograms, as they can save your life.

"Breast cancer does not have to be associated with having a lump.

"I could quite easily have missed this appointment and what then? Three years down the line, I might not have been here.

"There are so many women out there who do not go [for mammograms], because they say it hurts them, but what is a bit of pain if it saves your life?

"That mammogram saved my life, the surgeon said the tumour would not have been detected if I had not gone."

Breast cancer has been a topic for debate in Darlington since May, when outpatient clinics for patients were moved from Darlington Memorial Hospital to Bishop Auckland, subject to a review.

Darlington MP Jenny Chapman was critical of the move and last week held a meeting with County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust chief executive Sue Jacques, at which the subject was discussed.

Mrs Chapman said Ms Jacques had given her a guarantee that the review would be completed in the next two months, after which a decision on the long-term future of the clinics is expected.

A trust spokesman said discussions with staff and stakeholders are continuing.