Breast screening

Breast screening is where an x-ray of the breast (a mammogram) is taken to look for signs of early breast cancer. In Ireland BreastCheck invites women aged 50-64 on a two yearly cycle for their free breast x-ray. If breast cancer is found early, it is easier to treat at this and a woman has a high chance of a good recovery. No screening tool is 100 per cent effective and breast screening does not find all breast cancer, but screening in other countries has been shown to lower the number of women dying from breast cancer, and these lives are saved because cancers are diagnosed and treated earlier than they would have been without screening.

Why should women come for breast screening?

Regular breast screening means that if there are changes they will be found as early as possible. Finding a breast cancer when it is small normally means:

• There is a greater chance of treating the cancer successfully
• It is less likely to have spread to other parts of the body
• There may be more treatment options available

Finding cancer early is important. Breast screening and better treatments are helping to lower deaths from breast cancer. Screening programmes in other counties have greatly reduced the number of women dying from breast cancer. Northern Ireland has shown a reduction in deaths from breast cancer by 20 per cent in the last 10 years.

It is a woman’s choice whether or not they have breast screening. There are many different reasons why women decide whether or not to have screening. Here is a leaflet on the benefits and limits of breast screening.

For more information visit http://www.breastcheck.ie/ .