The Cambridge Breast Unit was opened by Cherie Booth QC on 10th October 2000. Prior to the opening of the unit patients were seen in Clinic 4 and were sent away with an appointment to return up to two weeks later for a mammogram. The purpose built unit was funded by charitable donations of £756,000 and brought together all of Addenbrooke’s outpatient breast services.
Ten years after its opening the Unit started a fundraising program to raise £57,650 to pay for a new specimen X-ray machine, which could shave 20 minutes from each patient’s time in theatre and mean another woman each day can be added to the operating list.
Three years ago £70,000 was raised thanks to fundraising through Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust (ACT) for a new breast ultrasound scanner, the third in the unit.
The Cambridge Breast Unit sees 5,700 new patients every year with breast problems and 450 are diagnosed with breast cancer. The additional scanner, used to examine breast tissue at clinic appointments, was urgently needed so that many more patients can be seen in clinic on a daily basis.
