Obviously if I decide not to attend I'll let them know but I'm interested in hearing opinions on this. I take my health seriously and normally attend everything going but this one I'm just not sure about as the accompanying leaflet informs me that:
'Screening saves about one life from breast cancer for every 200 women who are screened. This adds up to about 1300 lives saved from breast cancer'.
Great. But...
'About 3 in every 200 women screened every 3 years from the age of 50 to 70 are diagnosed with a cancer that would never have been found without screening and would never have become life-threatening. This adds up to about 4000 women each year in the UK who are offered treatment they did not need.
'Overall, for every 1 woman who has her life saved from breast cancer, about 3 women are diagnosed with a cancer that would never have become life-threatening. '
It is this risk of them finding and treating a cancer that would never become a problem I struggle with.
I'm 48 - our local authority is trialling extending the age range of women called for breast screening. No breast cancer in my family.