Frank words about breast screening

A growing body of evidence suggests that the benefits achieved by screening for breast cancer are small, that the harm from the over-diagnosis of breast cancer arising from screening is substantial, and that, where screening is available, the observed reductions in breast cancer mortality arise largely from increased awareness and improved chemo- and hormone therapyIt is reasonable for women to choose to be screened, but only if they are completely informed about the probability of benefit versus the probability of harm. For 2000 women aged 40–49 who undergo screening for 10 years, the benefit is much smaller in terms of avoiding death from breast cancer than is the harm arising from over-diagnosis and unnecessary treatment for breast cancer, to say nothing of the increased rates of mastectomy associated with screening.These issues are not widely known to the general public.