AFTER losing a close family member to breast cancer, a North-East MP has urged women in his constituency not to ignore screening opportunities.

John Cummings, MP for Easington, has joined forces with the charity Breakthrough Breast Cancer and an all party parliamentary group to persuade women over 50 to take the preventative action.

Breast cancer is now the UK's most common cancer with more than 40,000 women diagnosed with the disease each year.

Early detection and diagnosis vastly improves a woman's chances of surviving breast cancer and screening is seen as one of the most effective ways of spotting the disease.

About 9,500 cases of breast cancer are detected each year through screening and almost half of the tumours would have been too small to have been felt by hand.

The biggest known risk factor is age, with about 80 per cent of cases occurring in post-menopausal women aged 50 or over.

And while routine screening invitations are sent to all women aged between 50 and 64 every three years, evidence suggests that not all women take advantage of this potentially life-saving service.

Mr Cummings, who lost a member of his family to the disease said: "It is a sobering thought that one in nine women in Easington will develop breast cancer at some point in their lives.

"The good news is that more women than ever are surviving breast cancer and this in part is down to the NHS screening programme.''

"The earlier breast cancer is detected the better your chances of survival.

"The NHS Breast Screening Programme is a vital and effective part of the UK's efforts to reduce the death toll from this devastating disease but it is essential women in Easington take advantage of this by attending when invited.''

Mr Cummings also pointed out that the risk from breast cancer did not stop after the age of 65. He said women who were over this age were entitled to, and could request, routine screening every three years whether they had symptoms or not.