Cancer awareness

Breast Screening

What is breast screening?

Breast screening uses a test called mammography which involves taking x-rays of the breasts. Screening can help to find breast cancers early when they are too small to see or feel. These cancers are usually easier to treat than larger ones.

It is important to remember that screening will not prevent you from getting breast cancer but aims to find early breast cancers.

Overall, the breast screening programme finds cancer in around 9 out of every 1,000 women having screening (Cancer Research UK, 2024)

Find out more information by visiting Cancer Research UK or the NHS Breast Screening pages.

It is important that if you see any changes to your breasts that you are seen by your GP surgery, do not wait for your breast screening invitation.

When you'll be invited for breast screening and who should go

Anyone registered with a GP as female will be invited for NHS breast screening every 3 years between the ages of 50 and 71. You'll get a letter in the post inviting you.

When you'll be invited

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.

If you're a trans man, trans woman or are non-binary you may be invited automatically, or you may need to talk to your GP surgery or call the local breast screening service to ask for an appointment.

You need to be registered with a GP surgery to be invited for breast screening.

If you want to speak to a health professional about breast screening contact 01793 604036. They can talk you through what will happen and what to expect. You can also find a handy guide about what happens at breast screening here:

What happens at your breast screening appointment

Breast screening (mammogram)

NHS breast screening uses X-rays, called mammograms, to look for cancers that are too small to see or feel.

Bowel Screening

Bowel screening aims to find cancer early or to find changes in your bowel that could lead to cancer.

The screening programmes send a bowel cancer testing kit every 2 years to people who can take part. You need to be registered with a GP to receive your screening invitations. The test is called FIT – Faecal Immunochemical Test. It looks for tiny traces of blood. You do the test at home. The kit contains instructions of what to do including a prepaid envelope to send the sample to the hospital.

You should get the results within a few weeks. The letter will tell you what you need to do next. There are benefits and risks (Cancer Research UK, 2024)

Find out more about bowel screening by visiting Cancer Research UK or the NHS Bowel Screening page.

If you think you may have symptoms of bowel cancer it is important that you see your GP, do not wait until you are invited to do your screening test.

If you’re 75 or over, you can ask for a kit every 2 years by phoning the free bowel cancer screening helpline on 0800 707 60 60.

The NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme has information in other formats, including:

Cervical Screening

What is cervical screening?

Cervical screening is a way of preventing cancer. It tests for a virus called human papillomavirus (HPV). High risk HPV can cause cervical cells to become abnormal. Virtually all cases of cervical cancer are linked to high risk HPV.

The cervix is part of the female reproductive system. It is the lowest part of the womb and is at the top of the vagina. A nurse takes a sample of cells from the cervix using a small soft brush (smear test) and sends the sample to the laboratory (Cancer Research UK, 2024)

Find out more about cervical screening on Cancer Research UK or the NHS Cervical Screening page.

It is important that any symptoms of irregular bleeding or bleeding after intercourse are investigated, please don’t wait until you are invited for your screen.

When you’ll be invited for cervical screening and who should go

Anyone registered with a GP as female aged 25 to 64 will be invited for NHS cervical screening every 3 or 5 years. For more information please click here

Cervical screening for LGBTQ+ communities

Currently, only people who are registered as female with their GP surgery or clinic are automatically invited for cervical screening.

If you are registered as male, aged between 25 and 64, and want to go for cervical screening, you can:

ask your GP surgery to send you invites directly – they may be able to add a reminder to your medical record
put a reminder in your phone or calendar to ask for an appointment every 3 or 5 years, depending on your age and where you live.

For more information please visit

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nhs-population-screening-information-for-transgender-people/nhs-population-screening-information-for-trans-people

To book your cervical cancer screening please contact Old Town Surgery

Telephone: 01793 616057

Email: ots@nhs.net

What is cervical screening?

Find out more about cervical screening on the NHS website

Get this information in another language

Visit the Gov.uk website to see this information in other languages

Easy Read Guide

An easy to read guide can be found here

Prostate Cancer