Screening

Screening may save your life. Learn more about cancer screening: what it is, who it's for and which cancers you can be screened for.

Cancer screening

Cancer screening is a way to find cancer before any symptoms appear in your body. Finding cancer this early saves lives.

In Ireland, there are two free screening programmes, run by the National Cancer Screening service:

• Breast Cancer (BreastCheck)
• Cervical Cancer (CervicalCheck)

And a free bowel cancer (colorectal) cancer screening programme is due to start in January 2012.

Breast cancer screening

Breast cancer screening involves an x-ray of the breast tissue called a mammogram. Women between the ages of 50 and 64 are invited to get a mammogram every two years.

But you should always be breast aware, including self examinations.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in Ireland: one out of every eleven women in Ireland will get breast cancer. Breast cancer screening reduces the number of deaths from breast cancer, because it means it's found and treated early.

To get your mammogram, check with BreastCheck for locations and available appointments.

Cervical cancer screening

Cervical cancer screening involves a smear test - done by a doctor or nurse. The smear test looks for early changes in the cells of the cervix, which could lead to cancer if not found early. It takes less than five minutes, and it may be uncomfortable but it's not painful.

Smear tests are important because you don't usually have symptoms when you have abnormal changes in the cells of your cervix. A smear test is the only way to detect these changes, and this could save your life.

Every woman between 25 and 60 should have a regular smear test, whether they're single or married, have sex with men or women, have had the HPV vaccine, have stopped having babies or are post-menopausal.

• If you're between 25 and 44 years of age, you should have a smear test every three years.
• If you're between 45 and 60 years of age, you should have a smear test every five years.

The best time to have you smear test is halfway through your cycle: that's 10-14 days after the first day of your period (if you're having your periods).

If you get results that show abnormal cells, it doesn't mean you have cancer. It could be due to other problems, like an infection in your cervix. It does mean you'll need to have another smear test and a detailed examination of your cervix, called a colposcopy, which is done much in the same way as a smear test. A colposcopy looks at the cells in your cervix using a microscope. If they find changes to the cell, they can be treated easily, which prevents them from becoming cancer cells.

To get your smear test, you can make an appointment with the thousands of GPs, nurses, and clinics all registered as smeartakers. You can find a full list on at CervicalCheck. To get registered, to check if you're on the register, or if you have any questions, call them on 1800 45 45 55.

If you're already registered with CervicalCheck, they'll call you when your next smear test is due.

Bowel (colorectal) cancer screening

When the screening programme launches (January 2012), men and women aged 60-69 will be invited to attend. Find out more from the bowel cancer (colorectal) cancer screening programme.