NEARLY 11,000 people are living with undiagnosed breast cancer due to the coronavirus pandemic, a charity reports today.

Breast Cancer Now has calculated that a drop in referrals and less access to treatment led to 10,700 fewer people being diagnosed with breast cancer between March and December 2020 than it would have expected.

Researchers analysed a range of data, including the number of women screened each month and the length of time for which services were paused.

Even though services have resumed, the charity said that they are operating at only 60 per cent of normal capacity due to the need for social distancing and infection control.

Breast Cancer Now warned of a “perfect storm” on the way as health workers in imaging and diagnostic services are under unprecedented pressure due to the pandemic, having already been “chronically under resourced” beforehand.

Chief executive Baroness Delyth Morgan said: “The tragic cost of almost 11,000 missing breast cancer diagnoses is that in the worst cases, women could die from the disease.”

An NHS spokeswoman said that thousands of invitations for screening are sent every month. She urged women to book in as soon as they are invited.