photo - PAP

One-in-three Polish women do not have regular screenings for breast cancer and one-in-two men express little interest in the matter, finds a new survey commissioned by Polish Radio.

The opinion poll for the Homo Homini research company found that while 71 percent of women said they do have mammograms and other tests, 29 percent admitted that they didn’t.

Poles are unanimous, however, for the need for regular testing. Ninety eight percent agreed that tests are necessary with just two percent disagreeing.

Director of Homo Homini, Marcin Duma, says this unanimity should be regarded positively, nothing that “"virtually every Pole believes that women should be tested. We should rejoice that we have such a state of awareness”.

More worrying, however, is that half of men (51 percent) declared little interest in whether women were tested for breast cancer or not. “the role of men is huge as they can encourage women to go and be tested. With only half of men declaring an interest men have nothing to feel proud about,” Marcin Duma told Polish Radio.

The poll was conducted by telephone from a sample of 1,084.

The survey comes after last Monday‘s Campaign for Combating Breast Cancer in Warsaw which saw bridges illuminated in pink light. Every year over 13,000 women in Poland are diagnosed with breast cancer, over half discovering the illness too late for successful therapy. (pg)