Breast Cancer Screening Access in Rennes Faces Long Wait Times and Platform Hurdles
Access to breast cancer screening in Rennes is currently marked by wait times stretching up to six months, according to a report. Breast cancer remains the most frequent and deadliest cancer for women in France, claiming 12,000 lives annually. To combat this, the Caisse primaire d’assurance maladie (CPAM) offers women aged 50 to 74 a biennial mammogram that is fully covered by Social Security without any upfront costs.
Despite 100% coverage, patients encounter severe logistical barriers across France, with Brittany recording the lowest number of radiologists per eligible woman. Local residents report receiving advice from general practitioners to anticipate a six-month wait for an official screening center invitation. Compounding the issue, booking platforms like Doctolib frequently display no available slots across the city, forcing patients to use alternative services like Easydoct.com to find appointments months later in Rennes, Châteaugiron, and Cesson, while regional cancer centers like the Eugène-Marquis center often fail to appear in search results.
Medical professionals emphasize that routine screening mammograms are not medically urgent. Claudia Lefeuvre, an oncologist at the Eugène-Marquis center, explains that waiting up to six months for a routine screening is acceptable because the evolution in two years is rarely critical. Patrick Bourguet, president of the Ligue contre le Cancer 35, adds that organized screening targets patients without clinical signs. If a patient or gynecologist detects an anomaly or modification of the breast during a physical examination, diagnostic pathways accelerate dramatically, reducing wait times to about a week at regional centers.
Regional participation rates vary across jurisdictions, with the Agence Régionale de Santé (ARS) reporting a 55% participation rate in Rennes métropole, compared to 52% across Brittany and 44% nationwide. To expand access in underserved areas, the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region recently inaugurated the Mammobile, a mobile radiology unit funded at nearly €620,000 and equipped with tomosynthèse and téléradiologie technology. Supported by regional cancer institutes including the Institut Paoli-Calmettes, the Institut du Cancer Avignon-Provence, and the Centre Antoine Lacassagne, the mobile unit travels to remote municipalities to facilitate screenings in coordination with the Assurance maladie and the Centre régional de coordination des dépistages des cancers (CRCDC).