- What are the benefits and harms of attending a screening programme?
- How many will benefit from being screened, and how many will be harmed?
- What is the scientific evidence for this?
Summary
It may be reasonable to attend for breast cancer screening with mammography, but it may also be reasonable not to attend, as screening has both benefits and harms.
If 2000 women are screened regularly for 10 years, one will benefit from the screening, as she will avoid dying from breast cancer.
At the same time, 10 healthy women will, as a consequence, become cancer patients and will be treated unnecessarily. These women will have either a part of their breast or the whole breast removed, and they will often receive radiotherapy, and sometimes chemotherapy.
Furthermore, about 200 healthy women will experience a false alarm. The psychological strain until one knows whether or not it was cancer, and even afterwards, can be severe.
