Dawn Portelli, Kerċem
Priority cases for breast screening
I feel it is very unfair that only women between the ages of 50 and 59 are in the priority group for breast screening (A Booklet That Can Save A Woman's Life, May 19).
The article states that every year 220 women are diagnosed with breast cancer and that a breast cancer diagnosis is given every two minutes in Europe. Every woman is at risk of breast cancer, some more than others. Breast cancer does not discriminate. Any woman that has a history of breast cancer in the family should be included in the list of women for screening.
I hope that someone will add to the priority list those of us that know we are more at risk than others.
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Kj Tabone
May 20th 2010, 11:15
The problem is that with younger women the screening test is much less sensitive due to the consistency of the breast tissue that changes with age, making it easier to detect masses as you get older.
The highest risk group is menopausal women, hence that age group being given priority. Sure everyone is at risk of developing breast cancer, even men, but menopausal women have the highest risk. However, if you know you are already at a higher risk you should a) be performing regular checks on yourself, and b) go for regular screening.
Introducing screening at a much younger age presents with some problems of its own in that it may give a lot of false positive or negative results, and exposing a greater portion of the population to radiation is detrimental in itself. One needs to strike a balance between the benefits and the harm caused by more widespread screening.
But, like I said, if you form part of a high risk group either through family history or because of some medication you may be taking, you should be checked regularly.