Importance of Breast Cancer Screening

Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death among Jamaican women. Despite the advancement in technology and millions dedicated to cancer research annually to fight against breast cancer, it still remains a major public health challenge in Jamaica. The University Hospital of the West Indies is equally dedicated to fighting this devastating disease through public education and early detection.

Breast cancer screening is very essential in the fight against breast cancer. What does breast cancer screening mean? It means checking the breast of a woman or man for cancer before the symptoms of the disease become obvious.

Consultant Radiologist at the University Hospital of the West Indies, Dr. Derria Cornwall shares more about the importance of breast cancer screening. Watch it here:

What are the different types of screening tests? Breast exam, mammogram, breast ultrasound, and biopsy (removing a sample of breast cells) among others.

What are some of the benefits of breast cancer screening? Although screening cannot prevent breast cancer, it can help with early detection making it easier to treat.

Furthermore, every screening test has benefits and risks, hence it is important to speak to one’s doctor before getting any screening test, like a mammogram. Some risk associated with breast cancer screening includes false positive test results (when a doctor sees something that looks like cancer but is not) which can lead to additional tests that may be more expensive and invasive. These tests can also lead to overdiagnosis and overtreatment of cancer that would have resolved or disappeared on its own.

In doing screening mammograms can also miss some cancers or produce false negative test results, which may delay finding cancer and treatment.