Chris Lyttle MLA said:”In March 2013 the Assembly unanimously voted for a public awareness campaign to combat ovarian cancer. However, I believe that the Health Minister has not met this pledge.
“I was disappointed that the Health Minister indicated that ovarian cancer would only form part of a general cancer awareness campaign. While I welcome any work to combat cancer in general, I believe that there should be a specific campaign for ovarian cancer due to the low survival rates for those who don’t have an early diagnosis.
“In order to improve survival rates we must make women more aware of the symptoms and to encourage them to be tested, which I think would be done more effectively by a specific campaign. I would encourage any woman who has concerns about ovarian cancer to seek medical attention.
“I would also like to pay tribute to the work of inspirational women like Una Crudden, who have tirelessly campaigned to raise awareness of ovarian cancer.”
ENDS