Mammography
The NHS offers screening to save lives from breast cancer. Screening does this by finding breast cancers at an early stage, when they are too small to see or feel.
However, itdoes have some risks. Some women who have screening will be diagnosed and treated for breast cancer that would never otherwise have caused them harm.
Screening does not prevent you from getting breast cancer, andit may not help if you already have advanced stage breast cancer.
It's up to you to decide if you want to have breast screening.
The risks and benefits are explained in more detail below.
Most experts agree that regular breast screening is beneficial in identifying Breast cancer early. The earlier the condition is found, the better the chances of surviving it.
You're also less likely to need a mastectomy (breast removal) or chemotherapy if breast cancer is detected at an early stage.
Some women who have screening will be diagnosed and treated for breast cancer that would never otherwise have caused them harm. Read about breast cancer treatment , including potential side effects.
Following screening, about one in 25 women will be called back for further assessment. Being called back doesn't mean you definitely have cancer. The first mammogram may have been unclear.
Most women who receive an abnormal screening result are found not to have breast cancer. These women may experience unnecessary worry and distress.
About one in four women who are called back for further assessment are diagnosed with breast cancer.
There's a smallchance that you'll receive a negative (all clear) mammogram result when cancer is present. Breast screening picks up most breast cancers, but it misses breast cancer in about one in 2,500 women screened.
A mammogram is a type of X-ray, and X-rays can, very rarely, cause cancer.
During a mammogram, your breasts are exposed to a small amount of radiation (2-5 millisieverts, or mSv).
For comparison, in the UK, a person receives a dose of 2.2 mSv a year from natural background radiation. However, the benefits of screening and early detection are thought to outweigh the risks of having the X-ray.
There is debate about how many livesare saved by breast screening and how many women are diagnosed with cancers that wouldn't have become life-threatening. The numbersbelow are the best estimates from a group of experts who have reviewed the evidence.
Screening saves about one life from breast cancer for every 200 women who are screened. This adds up to about 1,300 lives saved from breast cancer each year in the UK.
About three in every 200 women screened every three years from the age of 50 to 70 are diagnosed with a cancer that would never have been found without screening and would never have become life-threatening. This adds up to about 4,000 women each year in the UK who are offered treatment they did not need.
Overall, for every one woman who has her life saved from breast cancer, about three women are diagnosed with a cancer that would never have become life-threatening.
Researchers are trying to find better ways to tell which women have breast cancers that will be life-threatening and which women have cancers that will not.
During the mammogram each breast is placed in turn on the X-ray machine and gently but firmly compressed with a clear plate. The compression only lasts a few seconds and doesn't cause any harm.
No, the Breast Screening Programme doesn't operate on a walk-in basis. It invites women in the target age group (50 to 70) for routine breast screening every three years.
Mammography is a procedure that is technically difficult and that requires a high degree of cooperation between the mammography practitioner and the woman.
If you do need to make a decision on someone else's behalf, consider what is involved in the screening process (including any further diagnostic tests that may be needed if the person receives an abnormal screening result). You may find it helpful to speak to their GP to discuss.
Individuals who are undergoing male to female gender reassignment may be screened as a self-referral at the request of their GP. If you have a symptom, you should see your GP in the usual way.
Individuals who are undergoing female to male gender reassignment will continue to be invited for breast screening as long as they are registered as a woman, unless they ask to be removed from the programme or have had both breasts removed.
The screening programme regularly checks records to make sure the service is as good as possible. Staff in other parts of the health service may need to see your records for this, but your records will only be shared with people who need to see them.
If you don't want to be invited for breast screening in the future, contact your GP or your breast cancer screening unit and ask to be removed from their list of women eligible for screening.
Breast screening aims to find breast cancers early. It uses an X-ray test called a mammogram that can spot cancers when they are too small to see or feel.
The NHS offers screening to save lives from breast cancer. Screening does this by finding breast cancers at an early stage, when they are too small to see or feel.
Women who are aged 50-70 and registered with a GP are automatically invited for breast screening every three years.
Breast screening is carried out at special clinics or mobile breast screening units. It's carried out by female members of staff who take mammograms (X-rays of the breast).
After your breasts have been X-rayed, the mammogram will be checked for any abnormalities. About one in 25 women will be called back for further assessment.
The NHS Breast Screening Programme is a rolling one, which calls women from doctors' practices in turn. This means not every woman receives her invitation as soon as she is 50. It will be sometime between the ages of 50 and 53.