WOMEN with a family history of breast cancer could be offered life-saving mammograms from the age of 40, a heath chief suggests.
The X-rays could also be given to younger women with dense breasts.
More women could be offered life-saving mammograms
Prof Sir Mike Richards, the Government’s former cancer czar, said expanding targeting health checks could catch more cases earlier.
At present, the NHS offers mammograms every three years between the ages of 50 and 70.
Younger women who carry the “Jolie gene” are also offered regular tests.
Actress Angelina Jolie had both breasts surgically removed after she discovered she carried a faulty copy of the BRCA1 gene – which significantly increases the risk of breast ovarian cancer.
Women who carry the BRCA2 gene, which also increases your risk of ovarian cancer, are also offered tests.
Sir Mike, who chairs the UK national screening committee, said it was considering rolling out the programme so more people are eligible for screenings.
While targeted screening is only offered to a “tiny” number of women at greatest risk, there were “far more” who might benefit from earlier checks, he told The Telegraph.
He said: “There are far more women in between standard risk and very high risk.
“Women who’ve got a family history but it’s not the BRCA1 or 2 are probably the largest group.
“Also we know women with very dense breasts on mammography are both at higher risk of cancer but they are also more difficult for mammography to pick up because of the density.”
Every year, around 11,500 women and 85 men die from breast cancer in the UK – that’s nearly 1,000 deaths each month.
Breast cancer screenings save up to 1,300 lives each year in the UK.
Screenings can also catch the disease before other symptoms show.
And as with all cancers, the earlier it’s caught the better the prognosis.
