breast screening

In medicine, examination of the breast to detect the presence of breast cancer at an early stage. Screening methods include self-screening by monthly examination of the breasts and formal programmes of screening by palpation (physical examination) and mammography in special clinics. Screening may be offered to older women on a routine basis and it is important in women with a family history of breast cancer.

Mammograms before the age of 50 can significantly reduce deaths from breast cancer according to a 1997 Swedish study. The study compared women in their forties who had mammograms every 18 months with women who didn't have a mammogram till age 50 (the current standard procedure in Western Europe and the USA). The researchers concluded that those women who received regularly screening were 45% less likely to die of breast cancer.