Breast cancer screening is a test that looks for earlier signs of breast cancer, usually by mammography. Population-based breast cancer screening is the regular testing of well women every one or two years to detect breast cancer earlier – before a woman notices any signs or symptoms of the disease, including tumours that are too small to feel.
In this section of the website, the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation provides you with evidence-based information about mammography screening.
Mammography is described as the gold standard of breast cancer screening for well women at average risk and is the most commonly used and effective breast cancer screening tool for most women. It is a screening method that uses low-dose X-rays to take images (or mammograms) of the inside of the breasts.
Mammography has been widely tested and proven to help reduce deaths from breast cancer in women who start regular screening from the age of 40. The benefits of regular breast cancer screening are shown from the age of 40 and increase as the woman ages. Earlier detection by mammography has helped to improve the length and quality of life of people diagnosed with breast cancer while reducing breast cancer death rates.
Since organized breast screening programs began in Canada in the late 1980’s, mammography has helped to reduce deaths from breast cancer by more than 35 per cent.
Wherever it is available, the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation encourages women to be screened with digital mammography. Digital mammography is gradually replacing screen-film mammography in Canada. This is because it is better at detecting breast cancer in women in their 40s, women 50+ who have not gone through menopause, and women with clinically diagnosed dense breasts.
Making an informed choice
The decision to participate in breast cancer screening is a woman’s personal choice. To help you make an informed decision about what is right for you, the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation encourages you to learn about your breast health, breast cancer risk, ways to reduce your risk, and the benefits and limitations of breast cancer screening. To inform your decisions, we also encourage you to consider speaking with a health care provider.
Explore this section to learn about:
More Information:
Assessing breast cancer risk
Breast cancer risk factors
Reducing your risk of breast cancer
About breast cancer
Sources:
Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. (2010). Earlier Detection and Diagnosis of Breast Cancer: A Report from It’s About Time! A Consensus Conference. Toronto, ON: Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.
Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. (2010). Earlier Detection and Diagnosis of Breast Cancer. Recommendations and Scientific Review from It’s About Time! A Consensus Conference. Toronto, ON: Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.
Canadian Cancer Society’s Steering Committee on Cancer Statistics. Canadian Cancer Statistics 2011, Toronto, ON: Canadian Cancer Society, 2011. Accessed July 31, 2011.
Pisano, E. et al. Diagnostic Performance of Digital versus Film Mammography for Breast-Cancer Screening. In New England Journal of Medicine, 2005, vol. 353 (pp. 1773-83). Accessed September 23, 2011.
Warner, E. Breast-Cancer Screening. In New England Journal of Medicine, 2011, vol. 365 (pp. 1025-1032). Accessed September 23, 2011. Subscription or payment is required to access the full article.