What is breast screening?
Cancer screening involves testing apparently healthy people for early signs of cancer.
Breast screening uses a test called mammography which involves taking x-rays of the breasts. Screening can help to find breast cancers early when they are too small to see or feel. These cancers are usually easier to treat than larger ones.
It is important to remember that screening will not prevent you from getting breast cancer but aims to find early breast cancers.
Overall, the breast screening programme finds cancer in around 9 out of every 1,000 women having screening.
When you’ll be invited
Breast cancer screening is for anyone between the ages of 50 and 70 who has breasts, due to either naturally-occurring oestrogen or oestrogen hormone therapy.
This can include;
- trans men and non-binary people assigned female at birth who have not had an operation to remove the breasts (bilateral mastectomy)
- trans women and non-binary people assigned male at birth and who have taken feminising hormones
- cisgender women
You’ll automatically get your first invite for breast screening between the ages of 50 and 53. Then you’ll be invited every 3 years until you turn 71.
If you’re a trans man, trans woman or are non-binary you may be invited automatically, or you may need to talk to your GP surgery or call the local breast screening service to ask for an appointment.
You need to be registered with a GP surgery to be invited for breast screening.