Breast screening

What is breast screening?

Breast screening is a method of detecting breast cancer at a very early stage. The first step involves an x-ray of each breast - a mammogram - which is taken while carefully compressing the breast. Most women find it a bit uncomfortable and a few find it painful. The mammogram can detect small changes in breast tissue which may indicate cancers which are too small to be felt either by the woman herself or by a doctor.

 

 

 

When will I be screened?

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. If you are registered with a GP and the practice has your correct details, then you will automatically receive an invitation. You don't need to contact anyone but you might like to ask your surgery when the women on their list are next due for screening.

 

 

 

Where will I be screened?

Cambridge and Huntingdon Breast Screening Unit is incorporated in the Cambridge Breast Unit. Screening Mammography is carried out on the mobile mammography units which travel to the various sites in Cambridgeshire. A small number of appointments are offered to special needs clients in the Breast Unit on the Addenbrooke’s site.

 

 

 

Screening Sites for the Cambridge and Huntingdon Breast Screening Service

Exact site will be listed in your screening invitation letter

Screening sites used by the C&HBS mobile mammography unit are:

 

Mobile Site	Place	Post code
Comberton	Village College	CB3 7DU
Cottenham	Village College	CB24 8UA
Ely	Paradise centre	CB7 4PQ
Ramsey	Health Centre	PE26 1BP
Alconbury	Surgery	PE28 4EQ
Kimbolton	Prep School	PE28 0EA
St Neots	Almond Rd	PE19 1DZ
Hinchingbrooke	Hospital	PE29 6NT
St Ives	North Rd Clinic	PE27 5RA
Melbourn	Village College	SG8 6EF
Sawston	Village College	CB22 3BP
Trumpington	Park & Ride	CB2 9FT

 

 

How often will I be screened?

The NHS Breast Screening Programme provides free breast screening every three years for all women in the UK aged 50 and over. Around one-and-a-half million women are screened in the UK each year. Women aged between 50 and 70 are now routinely invited.

 

 

I am over 70 what happens to me?

The NHS Breast Screening Programme will extend the age range of women eligible for breast screening to ages 47 to 73 over time. The current age range is 50 to 70. An extra 200,000 women a year will be screened. At present women over 70 are eligible for mammography but are required to make their own appointment at 3 yearly intervals.

 

 

What to expect at an appointment ?

A visit to a screening unit for breast screening takes about fifteen minutes. The woman is greeted by a receptionist or female mammography practitioner who checks her personal details (name, age and address). The mammography practitioner asks the woman about any symptoms or history of breast disease, explains what will happen when the mammograms are taken, and answers any questions about breast screening. If the woman is happy to proceed, the mammography practitioner then takes the mammogram.

 

 

She explains when and how the woman will get her results, and reminds her of the need to be breast aware  between screening appointments. If it is the woman's last

routine screening invitation, the mammography practitioner also reminds her that she can ask for another screening appointment in three years' time.

 

 

All mammograms are checked for quality. Occasionally you may be recalled for a film to be repeated if the images are not deemed of sufficient quality for reporting.

Mammograms being checked for Quality.

 

All screening mammograms are double reported by trained mammography readers at

least one of whom will be a Consultant Breast Radiologist.

> NHS Breast Screening Programme

 

 

 

Family history screening

At present we are working with the Primary Care Trust so we will be able to offer a screening service for women who are at high risk of getting breast cancer because of their family history.

> Familial breast cancer: understanding NICE guidance

 

 

 

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