Introduction
Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in the UK with 56,000 new cases a year and is most diagnosed in women over the age of 50: affecting 1 in 7 women and 1 in 900 men each year. In North Tyneside, the age standardised rate is 174/100,000 per year, with 240 cases diagnosed in 2019.
There are multiple risk factors for breast cancer, some of which are unpreventable such as ageing, and family history whereas others such as alcohol use are considered preventable. Preventable risk factors are considered with ongoing work through the relevant alliances in the borough and region.
As with other cancers, the earlier breast cancer is detected and diagnosed, the better the prognosis. In England, 70.6% of breast cancers in 2019 were diagnosed early, at Stage 1 or 2, compared to 65% in North Tyneside. The National Screening Committee concluded at the last review that the breast screening programme has significant benefit; 1,300 lives saved and should therefore continue to operate. However, screening programmes do carry risk.
The aim of the breast cancer screening programme is to reduce breast cancer morbidity and mortality by diagnosing breast cancer early. The breast cancer screening programme is available to women aged 50 – 70, with those 70+ able to opt in to continue to be screened. Women should be invited to screen every 36 months.
The breast cancer screening programme aims to find breast cancers when they are still small enough to not create any signs or symptoms. There are several types of breast cancer which can be divided into invasive or non-invasive. As a cancer is detected by the screening programme at an early stage, it is not possible to determine if a cancer would have developed into an invasive cancer or not.