Breast screening programme deemed a success

Preliminary results of a study on the acceptance of the German mammography screening programme indicate that women support current efforts to detect breast cancer early.

90% of screening participants said they will also accept future invitations for a scan.
For the study, initiated by the Women’s Health Coalition and a self-help group for women who have had cancer, 9,004 randomly chosen women aged between 50 and 69 years were interviewed and some also responded to questionnaires.
Results: 94% think mammography screening increases the likelihood of healing breast cancer due to early detection. 88% of women who, though invited, decided against being screened share that opinion. 81% in the screening programme and 66% of non-participants consider the benefits of screening outweigh the risks from radiation exposure. Respectively, 88% and 70% said an invitation that offers a date and time for screening helped participation. 
The study also found knowledge gaps: ‘Almost two thirds of the women did not know that the breast cancer risk increases with age. We will therefore intensify our information campaign,’ said Irmgard Nass-Griegoleit, president of the Women’s Health Coalition.
Women’s health reports: Pages 7–8

01.07.2009

Related articles

Photo

Article •

Underway: The Eurosafe Imaging Campaign

It was long overdue: Seven years after the arrival of the USA’s Image Wisely and Image Gently Campaigns, a European campaign for greater radiation protection in diagnostic and interventional…

Photo

Article •

Three tiny grills deliver high contrast X-rays

Mammography scans with lower dose and higher contrast – that’s the declared goal of Dr Nik Hauser, Medical Director of the Women‘s Clinic and Director of the Interdisciplinary Breast Centre at…

Photo

Article •

Breast screening in the UK

Expert warns that breast screening across the country needs to undergo a dramatic transformation over the next 15 years, Mark Nicholls reports.

Related products

Subscribe to Newsletter