BreastCheck services will begin to reopen on a phased basis this week after being suspended in March due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Staff from the screening service were since redeployed to assist hospitals in managing waiting lists of women with symptoms of the disease.
CEO of Breast Cancer Ireland Aisling Hurley has advised people who notice an abnormality to see a GP right away.
“It is a long time, but you know what the most important thing is, is that they go now to their GP and they get themselves checked,” she said.
There are eight signs and symptoms, a lump is just a minor one.
“What we’re trying to say to people is that don’t wait and don’t sit back and wait for BreastCheck to resume,” she added. “We are now saying to people they need to be more breast aware.”
Ms Hurley said women should be aware of signs and symptoms regardless of the operation of the screening service.
“There are eight signs and symptoms, a lump is just a minor one,” she said.
“We have you know indentation of the nipple, we have swelling of the breast, we have swelling under the armpit, we have other signs and symptoms. There are eight signs and symptoms which you can check in our Breast Aware app.”
