A BREAST screening service which has helped saved many lives since it started from humble beginnings is celebrating its 40th birthday.

The Lady McAdden Breast Screening Unit - fondly known as Bust - first opened its doors in 1976 following a prolonged fundraising campaign.

The campaign began eight years earlier with less than 50p, when a purse was left behind at a Townswomen’s Guild meeting.

It lay unclaimed in a treasurer’s box for several months.

Eventually, Norma Heigho, then chairman of the South East Essex Federation of Townswomen’s Guild, suggested that this money be used to start a fundraising campaign to set up a unit to detect breast cancer.

Over the next few years, the members of the Federation raised £11,000.

At the time it was just becoming apparent early detection of breast cancer could have a significant effect on treatment and beating the disease.

However, six years were to pass before support was won from the then Southend medical officer of health, the late Dr Gilbert Griffin and his colleague Dr Reynolds, radiologist at Southend Hospital.

Dr Griffin’s faith in the determination of the Townswomen’s Guild membership was confirmed when a further £50,000 was raised in less than 12 months.

Another £50,000 was then raised to meet the final cost of the £100,000 needed to open the unit in Hillborough Road, Westcliff, where it still remains today.

Lady Dorothy McAdden, wife of the late Sir Stephen McAdden, MP for Southend East, agreed to give her name to the trust fund, which was launched in 1974.

The unit was opened on May 22 1976, and now sees 5,000 women each year.

Sally Vickers, unit manager, said: “The commitment of all our staff and volunteers is amazing and I am very proud of the team we have here and of the service we provide.

"So many fundraising events have taken place over the years in aid of the Unit, the initial build, the raising of the second story to accommodate the NHS Breast Unit and in 2007 an appeal to upgrade the x-ray equipment to full field digital.

"It would be impossible to list all the volunteers, staff and supporters of the past 40 years but I do wholeheartedly thank those who gave of their time and energy to make the Lady McAdden Trust what it is today.”

Ken Johnson, chairman of the trust said: “These are challenging times for all voluntary organisations like the Lady McAdden Breast Screening Trust. The importance of the service the trust offers to women cannot be understated.

"We are grateful for those that support us in so many different ways from fundraising, collecting in supermarkets, running marathons, skydives, volunteering and we must acknowledge the huge contribution of our two charity shops."

The unit has no external funding and relies solely on donations and fundraising to provide its invaluable service, and on the patients who use the service who are asked to make a donation if they can.

Mr Johnson added: "The trust does rely on contributions from patients who visit but this will never be sufficient to cover costs.

"Our service is available to women of all ages from 18 with no upper age limit. We are always seeking ways to expand our services to meet the needs of local women.”