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.
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.
What is a Mammogram and Does it Hurt?
A
mammogram is an x-ray of the breast. The breast is placed between plates
and a lever compresses (flattens) the breast for a few seconds while the
x-ray is being taken (see poster here). Although every woman’s experience is different
most women do not find it painful. The majority of women find it a little
uncomfortable and compare it to like having their blood pressure taken.
The radiographer will work with the woman to make it as comfortable as possible.
It is very important that the breast is compressed. It makes sure that more of the breast tissue can be seen, less radiation will be used and there will be no movement, which causes blurring on the x-ray.
BreastCheck uses state of the art equipment to make sure a high quality image is taken.
Why Screen Women Aged 50 to 64?
In Ireland over 70 per cent of breast cancer occurs in women over 50 years of age. Breast cancer occurs infrequently in women under 40 years. In women who have not reached the menopause, the breast tissue is usually dense and it is more difficult to see a small cancer with a mammogram. Once a woman has reached the menopause the breast tissue changes and turns into fatty tissue. This makes it much easier to see a small cancer on the breast x-ray. There is a higher chance of developing breast cancer as women get older.
The Department of Health and Children chose the 50-64 year age group for screening as there is a greater proportion of women at risk of dying from the disease in this age group compared to women above or below this age range. It is agreed by the Board that, when BreastCheck has expanded nationally, screening will be expanded to women up to 69 years.
In the following graph the line shows the increase in age-specific mortality (per 100,000 women) from breast cancer among Irish females in 2002. As age increases so does mortality from breast cancer. The bar chart shows the age-specific death from breast cancer as a percentage of total deaths among Irish women in 2002. It can be seen that as women pass 65 years the relative contribution of breast cancer to overall female mortality drops considerably.
