Would clinical breast examination be an acceptable alternative to mammographic screening?
One of greatest benefits of the NHS breast screening programme in its 10 years of life has been the raising of people’s awareness of breast cancer to the extent that many of the cancers in the screened population that are missed at mammography are found by the patients themselves.20–22 Screening has therefore shifted the point of diagnosis backwards such that it has become less and less effective at reducing mortality. It has also been pointed out that the public believe the purpose of the NHS breast screening programme is to “find cancer early,” as stated by the leaflets inviting women for screening.
