Cigna UK HealthCare Benefits (Cigna) and BreastHealth UK have formed an alliance to offer Cigna customers OneStop breast cancer diagnostics beginning January 2016. This new service offers customers rapid access to breast cancer specialists.
New research shows that 25 percent of all cancer sufferers see their General Practitioner (GP) three times before being referred for further tests.1 With Cigna's new service, customers can arrange a OneStop breast cancer diagnostic appointment within five working days through self-referral.
In line with current best practice, customers will be offered triple assessment in one appointment, which includes:
- Clinical breast examination
- Breast ultrasound and or mammography for those aged 35 and over
- Image-guided tissue biopsy or cyst aspiration
Phil Austin, Cigna's UK HealthCare Benefits Managing Director commented, "Every week, nearly 900 people are diagnosed with breast cancer in the UK.2 With our unique new OneStop breast cancer diagnostics, customers can be confident they will get fast access to cancer specialists near to their home. This crucial time saving one-visit diagnostics service is currently not commonplace in the UK."
Professor Gordon Wishart, Consultant Breast Surgeon and Medical Director of BreastHealth UK commented, "BreastHealth UK is delighted to collaborate with Cigna to provide OneStop diagnostic services for their customers with breast cancer symptoms. My own research has shown that performing all tests at one appointment, including biopsy if necessary, is the best way to make the correct diagnosis, with an accuracy of 99.6 percent.3"
Cigna was the first healthcare provider services company in the UK to launch self-referral for physiotherapy in 2008. Last year, Cigna introduced further condition specific pathways including self-referral for Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and self-referral to see an osteopath or chiropractor.
For more information, please contact Nicola Thomson, Cigna's Marketing Communications Manager nicola.thomson@cigna.com.
1European Journal of Cancer Care. Academic research by Cambridge University. September 2015.
2Best practice diagnostic guidelines for patients presenting with breast cancer symptoms. www.associationofbreastsurgery.org.uk. 2010.
3OneStop diagnostic breast clinics: how often are breast cancers missed? British Journal of Cancer. 2009.