West Berkshire Breast Screening
Service invites approx 60,000 women
for screening over a three year period.
According to national guidelines every
woman between the ages of 50 and 70 should be screened every three
years.
This is scheduled to change in 2012 when the age range will
extend to 47-73. At present when women reach 70 they are no longer
called automatically but are very welcome to contact the breast
screen unit for an appointment.
Benefits
The main benefits of breast screening are that:
- most cancers are found at an early stage
- 85 per cent of cancers found at screening in 2009
were small enough to be removed without requiring removal of the
whole breast
- breast screening saves an estimated 1,400 lives per year in the
UK.
If you do find any change in how your breasts look and feel,
visit your GP.
Client guide - what to expect
Women are advised not to wear deodorant or moisturisers before a
mammogram and to wear separates as they will need to take off
all clothes from the top part of their body.
A mammogram is a low dose x-ray of the breast tissue. After
taking your top clothes off the radiographer will place each breast
in turn on the x-ray machine, they will be gently but firmly
compressed with a flat clear plate. This may be slightly
uncomfortable but the sensation will only last a short while.
Usually two mammograms are taken of each breast from
different angles. There are no side or after effects and the
process takes a relatively short amount of time. You and your GP
should hear the results of the mammogram within
three weeks.
About 1 in 12 women (7%) are asked to come
back to the breast screening unit in Reading for further tests.
This may be because a possible problem with the breast tissue has
been seen on the mammogram. This problem may not be a cancer
because many benign (innocent or harmless) breast conditions
show up on the mammogram. The majority of women (8/10) asked
back have a negative result (i.e. there is no cancer). At the
assessment clinic the tests might include:
- more mammograms
- clinical examination
- ultrasound and needle biopsy.
If there are any further questions concerning
the breast screening service or assessment clinic please contact
the clinical nurse specialist Carolyn Denham on 0118 3228563.
Staff details
|
Carolyn Denham
|
Clinical Director Marjon Bell
Consultant Radiologists Marjon Bell,
Elizabeth Cave, Jane Maloney
Clinical lead for symptomatic /screening service
Sarah Wells
Clinical Nurse Specialist Carolyn Denham |
Opening hours
Opening Hours Monday to Friday 8.30-5.00
Mobile phones
Mobile phones cannot be used in this unit.
Mobile units
The two mobile units travel to 13 sites throughout the West
Berkshire area.
- Chieveley Surgery
- Goring Surgery
- Hungerford Fire Station
- Lambourn Surgery
- Mortimer Surgery
- Pangbourne Surgery
- Sonning Common Surgery
- Swallowfield Surgery
- Townlands Hospital, Henley
- Twyford Surgery
- West Berkshire Community Hospital
- Wokingham Hospital
Leaflets
Patient
leaflets can be downloaded on the right hand side of this page.
Some of the files are large - they may take a long time to
download if you do not have a fast connection.
To view these PDF documents you will need Adobe Acrobat reader.
If you do not have this free software, you can download
Acrobat Reader here.