Our highly subsidised service enables women over 40 to be screened for breast cancer earlier and more frequently than they would under the NHS programme.

Costing just £25-£35 depending on where you live, mammograms are carried out at two hospitals in East Kent — the Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Hospital, Margate and the Kent & Canterbury Hospital, Canterbury.

Why do I need this service?

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women. At the moment, 1 in every 9 women will develop breast cancer during her lifetime. The risk rises with age, rising steadily after the menopause. This explains why breast cancer screening is important. Mammography can detect cancers that are often too small to feel. The smaller the cancer when it is detected, the greater the chance that it may be cured.

It is therefore important to seek advice from your doctor if you do suspect a lump in the breast, even if your mammogram was reported as being normal.

What does the NHS provide?

The mobile breast screening unit visits each area once every three years. Any woman registered with a GP and aged between 50 and 70 will automatically receive an invitation for a free breast screen. Women who have reached their 50th birthday will only be called when the mobile unit is in their area. This may result in some women not being called until they are 52.

After they reach the age of 70, they may receive further 3-yearly free NHS screenings, only if they make a specific request to have them.

Is the NHS screening programme sufficient for my needs?

No, it isn’t . . .

Below the age of 40, the risk of breast cancer is much less, and screening is less accurate because breasts are more dense and smaller abnormalities are more difficult to see. For this reason, regular breast screening is not recommended in this age group.

Women from 40 to 49 years may feel that since they are not offered screening by the NHS, they are not at risk. This is not true. Research shows that women of this age group, although they are less likely to develop this disease, are still at risk and should be screened. However, an abnormality diagnosed in this age group is more likely to be non-cancerous.

Women above 50 should not rely entirely on the 3-year interval for screening offered by the NHS screening programme. It is recognised that a number of so-called ‘interval cancers’ are discovered between screenings, and an interval of 1 1⁄2 to 2 yrs is recommended in some other countries.

What is the incidence of breast cancer?

The incidence of breast cancer rises steeply with age. The figures from Cancer Research UK are:

Are there any risks associated with having a mammogram?

The radiation risk of a mammogram is difficult to calculate. It varies with age. It is thought that about 1 in 20,000 women might develop a breast cancer sometime in the next 10 years as a result of the radiation screening from a mammogram, but at the same time, up to 170 breast cancers will be detected (NHSBSP publication 34 p17). As an individual, the choice is yours — you should decide whether the benefits you may gain from the mammogram outweigh the risks outlined above.

Still have questions? Try our FAQs page ›