Rethinking breast screening--again

doi:10.1136/bmj.331.7523.1031

BMJ 2005;331:1031 (29 October), doi:10.1136/bmj.331.7523.1031

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Rethinking breast screening—again

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Back in 1989 Maureen Roberts, clinical director of the Edinburghbreast screening project, wrote poignantly in an article entitled"Breast screening: time for a rethink": "I am in a reflectivemood as I lie here in the sunshine at the end of my life. Breastcancer has caught up with me after eight good years" ( BMJ 1989;299: 1153-5).

Fast forward to autumn 2004. A 69 year old woman—age 13at menarche, age 22 at first birth, no family history of breastcancer, on oestrogen only hormone replacement therapy for 15years—was referred to a surgeon because of discomfortin her left breast. As requested, she brought her most recentmammograms. On clinical examination neither patient nor surgeoncould see or feel any abnormality in either breast. Bilateraldiagnostic mammography showed a normal left breast but an obviousbreast cancer in the right breast . . . [Full text of this article]

Cornelia J Baines, professor emerita

Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto cornelia.baines@utoronto.ca