Breakthrough defends screening

A report published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine contends that breast screening does not save 1,400 lives in the UK each year, as claimed by the NHS.

19 Jan

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According to a story in The Times on 19 January 2010, breast screening is damaging to women and does not save lives. Our comment released at the time defends the screening programme. 

How we defend screening

Dr Caitlin Palframan, Policy Manager at Breakthrough Breast Cancer, said:

"We believe on the basis of current published evidence the benefits of breast screening outweigh the risks. It is extremely difficult to know which cancers will develop into a life-threatening disease and which won’t. We do know that breast screening is currently the best method of detecting cancers at their earliest stage when treatment is more likely to be successful and we encourage all eligible women to attend.

"In the run-up to the General Election, Breakthrough Breast Cancer is calling for all political parties to commit to continued investment in the screening programme to ensure that all eligible women can access this important service."

Read the full story

The original story is available to read here: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article6993062.ece

What is breast screening?

Read our information about breast screening and learn about the benefits.