Have you been for a breast cancer screening?

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. 

About 1 in 8 women in the UK are diagnosed with breast cancer during their lifetime – if it can be detected early, treatment is more successful and the chance of making a full recovery is much better.

Awareness campaigns have helped make women more aware of the importance of checking their breasts regularly and seeing a doctor if they find anything unusual.

The likelihood of getting breast cancer also increases with age – all women in the UK aged 50 to 70 who are registered with a GP are automatically invited for routine breast cancer screening every 3 years. If you’re at high risk of cancer, typically because of family history, you will often be invited to a screening sooner.

Although uptake of screening invitations is on the rise, only about 72% of women aged 50-70 took up their invitation to be screened in 2015-16, meaning there is still a quarter of women eligible who are missing this vital service.

Have you ever been for a breast cancer screening? Was this by routine invitation or at the special request of your doctor? Share your experiences in the comments below.