The NHS has launched its first-ever breast screening awareness campaign highlighting the benefits of screening and encouraging more women to make the most of regular mammograms, as new figures show more than a third of women in the East of England invited for the first time don’t act on their invitation.
The NHS England annual data also shows more than 100,000 eligible women in the region have never been screened and 28% per cent of women in the East of England did not attend their screening appointments following an invitation, (increasing to 35.2% of women who were being invited for the first time).
The new NHS campaign – supported by leading charity Breast Cancer Now – has launched with a new advert across TV, radio and online to highlight that screening can detect any cancers as early as possible, while also providing reassurance and relief to the millions of women who get the all-clear.
New NHS estimates suggest that if screening attendance could be improved to 80% of those eligible next year (2025/26), nearly a million more women in England (around 925,000) could be screened, compared to 2022/23 – with over 7,500 additional breast cancers detected at an earlier stage, when they are more treatable. In 2023-24, more than 7,000 women in the East of England (7,146) were referred for further checks following screening, and as a result 1,812 women had a cancer detected, which may not have been diagnosed and treated until a later stage.
The landmark NHS campaign sees celebrities including Newsnight anchor Victoria Derbyshire, broadcaster and presenter Julia Bradbury, and Strictly Come Dancing judge Shirley Ballas write ‘unofficial’ invitation letters to women about their personal experiences of screening to reassure them and encourage them to attend. They are joined by cancer survivors, NHS staff and TV doctors in sharing letters in a number of moving films.
The campaign comes as a new survey of 2,000 women nationally for the NHS showed that almost 40% rarely or never talk about breast screening with their female friends and families, and almost a quarter (24%) of women said they wouldn’t attend if they didn’t already have symptoms like a lump. More than a fifth (21%) also said that embarrassment at being topless in front of someone would prevent them from attending. Concerns about screening being painful (18.5%) also feature. However, 83.2% said they would attend breast screening if they were invited.
Thanks to the hard work of NHS teams in the East of England, latest data shows breast screening uptake among those invited in 2023-24 improved to 72.2% – a significant jump from 66.0% in 2022-23 – and the first time the NHS in the region and nationally has hit its acceptable target for breast screening uptake since before the pandemic. More than 530,000 women in the East of England are up to date with their screening (screened within the last three years), which is above the national average for coverage.
Balwinder Nanray from Essex was diagnosed with breast cancer following a routine mammogram appointment as part of the breast screening programme. Balwinder had an aggressive stage 3 breast cancer, which required immediate surgery, with a mastectomy and removal of 12 lymph nodes, followed by extensive treatment of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Balwinder was in her 50s and had no signs or symptoms before her first screening – showing the importance of screening, as you may not see or notice the signs or symptoms.
Being part of an Asian community presented additional challenges for Balwinder as there can be stigma around cancer, especially gender-related cancers. Balwinder joined an Asian breast cancer support group to help her deal with her diagnosis and to join with others going through the same experience. She was also supported by the charity Breast Cancer Now both during and beyond her recovery; helping her move forward with her life and enabling her to share her story with others going through the same experience.
Who’s invited for breast screening?
- Anyone registered with a GP as female aged from 50 up to their 71st birthday will be invited for NHS breast screening every 3 years. You’ll get a letter in the post inviting you.
- You’ll automatically get your first invite for breast screening between the ages of 50 and 53. Then you’ll be invited every 3 years until you turn 71.
- You need to be registered with a GP practice to be invited for breast screening.
- If you have not been invited for breast screening by the time you are 53 and think you should have been, contact your local breast screening service.
- If you have been invited for breast screening but missed or did not book an appointment you can still contact your local NHS breast screening service to arrange one, even if you were invited weeks, months or years ago.