Routine breast screening is fairly well established in many countries, but there has been recent controversy regarding its benefits. All types of medical screening have their drawbacks including missed diagnoses, further investigations that turn out to be unnecessary, anxiety caused by recalls, and treatment for conditions that would have never caused any problems if they had been left alone.
For breast cancer the only type of screening that has proven to be effective is regular routine mammography according to leading London breast cancer expert Mr Nicolas Beechey-Newman Consultant Surgeon and Clinical Director, The Lister Hospital. A mammogram is a breast X-ray so an additional problem with this type of screening is the exposure to radiation. However breast cancer is a major health problem and an effective form of screening is very desirable. It is the commonest type of cancer that affects women, with 1 in 9 females in the UK being diagnosed with the problem during their lifetime.
Screening for breast cancer should be particularly effective because it is one of those cancers where catching it at an early stage makes a huge difference to the chance of cure. There are a number of reasons why the survival rates from breast cancer have improved steadily over the last thirty years, but it is thought that the most important factor has been early diagnosis.
Nicolas Beechey-Newman has written about Breast Screening - his article answers common questions such as:
- What is mammography?
- Does screening work?
- What are the benefits of surgery?
- What is the ideal age to screen?
