Breast screening saves lives

The NHS Breast Cancer Screening Programme is saving over 1,400 lives every year in England, according to a new report published today.

Screening for Breast Cancer in England: Past and Future, was compiled by the Advisory Committee on Breast Cancer Screening after tests were carried out on women over the age of 50.

Julietta Patnick, director of the NHS Cancer Screening Programmes, said she was “delighted” about the contribution the programme was making to reducing deaths from breast cancer.

Professor Valerie Beral, director of the Cancer Research Epidemiology Unit at Oxford University, said that the evidence “undoubtedly demonstrates that the benefits of the [breast screening] programme greatly outweigh any risks”.

She also said that by detecting breast cancer at an earlier stage it reduced the likelihood that women would have to undergo treatments such as mastectomies.

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