From Invitation to Treatment

When a woman receives a letter asking her to attend for a mammogram, she will be asked to go to either her local screening unit or a mobile screening unit, depending on which is most convenient for her.

The mammogram, which is a low-dose x-ray, can find breast cancer at an early stage and long before there are any signs or symptoms. If breast cancer is found early enough, there is a good chance of successful recovery. The procedure is carried out by radiographers and most women consider it to be only mildly uncomfortable.

The visit normally takes up to 30 minutes and for the x-ray, women are asked to undress from the waist up. The radiographic staff, who are all female, will place each breast in turn between two special x-ray plates. The x-ray itself takes only a few moments and involves a tiny dose of radiation.

The x-rays are processed in one of the four screening units in the province and examined by radiologists. Click here for more information on radiology.

Most women receive a normal result (around 95%), which means that the x-rays have been seen by radiologists and considered to be normal. These women are then recalled for another routine x-ray within three years.

Occasionally, however, (<2%) of woman are asked to re-attend for an x-ray to be repeated as the previous x-ray film has been considered technically inadequate, which means radiologists are unable to assess it.

Around 1 woman in 20 is called back for a second visit to a Breast Assessment Clinic (which is a continuation of the Northern Ireland Breast Screening Programme). This is because the result suggests that other tests are needed. However, this does not necessarily mean that there is something wrong – 4 out of 5 women recalled are given normal results following these additional tests.