Mammography
Women who are aged 50-70 and are registered with a GP are automatically invited for screening every three years.
Breast screening is currently offered to women aged 50-70 in England. However, the NHS is in the process of extending the programme as a trial, offering screening to some women aged 47-73.
You will first be invited for screening between your 50th and 53rd birthday, although in some areas youll be invited from the age of 47 as part of the trial extension of the programme.
If you want to change the appointment youve been given, contact the name and address on your invitation letter.
You may be eligible for breast cancer screening before the age of 50 if you have a higher-than-average risk of developing breast cancer (see below).
If you're over the age of 70 (73 in areas where the trial is in place), you'll stop receiving screening invitations. However, you're still eligible for screening and can arrange an appointment directly with your local breast screening unit.
Find breast cancer screening units in your area .
If you think you may have an increasedrisk of breast cancer because you have a family history of breast cancer (female or male) or Ovarian cancer , talk to your GP so you can be referred to a hospital high-risk clinic. The clinic may refer you for genetic testing, if they feel it is appropriate.
Read about genetic counselling and predictive genetic tests for cancer risk genes .
If you've been found to have an increased risk of developing breast cancer, you may have yearly magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans or mammograms, depending on your age and your specific level of risk. MRI scans are sometimes used instead of mammograms, because they're better at detecting cancer if you have dense breast tissue.
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.