Breast Cancer Detection

Breast Cancer Screening

Early detection is one of the best ways to combat cancer. Catching cancer in it’s earliest stages gives you the best chances of successfully treating it. Checking for cancer (or for conditions that may lead to cancer) in people who have no symptoms is called "screening."

Your doctor's office is one of the best places to keep a regular schedule of annual check-ups and screenings, such as pap tests, mammograms, and digital rectal exams. To select an Alta Bates Summit general practitioner, choose Internal Medicine or Family Medicine from the drop-down menu on our Find A Doctor search tool.

In addition, Alta Bates Summit Medical Center offers cancer screening opportunities through the following programs:

Screening can help doctors find and treat some types of cancer early, and generally, cancer treatment is more effective when started early. of treatment for the cancer identified in the screening test.

Cancer screening recommendations vary, so we have chosen two reputable and respected sources of information for screening recommendations and guidelines - the American Cancer Society (ACS) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

NCI Screening Recommendations

Screening tests are often used to check for cancers of the breast, cervix, colon, and rectum. The NCI has several fact sheets about screening tests in their NCI Publications section of their website. Here are their recommendations for the following sites:

A mammogram is the best tool doctors have to find breast cancer early. A mammogram is a picture of the breast made with x-rays. Alta Bates Summit offers digital mammograms which provide faster and more accurate imaging results than the traditional mammogram.

  • The NCI recommends that women in their forties and older have mammograms every 1 to 2 years.
  • Women who are at higher-than-average risk of breast cancer should talk with their health care provider about whether to have mammograms before age 40 and how often to have them.

The NCI is supporting research to learn more about screening for cancers of the breast, cervix, colon, lung, ovary, prostate, and skin.

Go to the NCI Website to learn about the latest screening techniques available for cancer.

ACS Screening Recommendations

The following cancer screening guidelines are recommended for those people at average risk for cancer (unless otherwise specified) and without any specific symptoms. People who are at increased risk for certain cancers may need to follow a different screening schedule, such as starting at an earlier age or being screened more often. Those with symptoms that could be related to cancer should see their doctor right away.

  • Yearly mammograms are recommended starting at age 40 and continuing for as long as a woman is in good health.
  • Clinical breast exam (CBE) should be part of a periodic health exam, about every three years for women in their 20s and 30s and every year for women 40 and over.
  • Women should know how their breasts normally feel and report any breast change promptly to their health care providers. Breast self-exam (BSE) is an option for women starting in their 20s.
Women at increased risk (for example, family history, genetic tendency, past breast cancer) should talk with their doctors about the benefits and limitations of starting mammography screening earlier, having additional tests (for example, breast ultrasound or MRI), or having more frequent exams.