Diagnosis

The patient may notice a lump herself on routine or casual self-examination. Sometimes it is detected by her general examination as part of clinical examination for other reasons or as a result of routine examination in hospital. With the introduction of the breast-screening programme in the UK, asymptomatic breast cancer is being more frequently diagnosed among women routinely screened for breast cancer between the ages of 50 and 69. In 1998, 75% of women (1.2 million) aged 50–64 were screened, detecting 7000 cancers, a yield of 0.6% (6 per 1000). With the extension of the breast-screening program to older women up to the age of 69, the number of breast cancers detected through breast screening is likely to rise. Patients should be referred to a specialist breast unit with multidisciplinary management from surgeon, oncologist, radiologist, pathologist and breast care nurse.

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