A "screening" is looking for cancer before any sign of symptoms. It is important to find abnormal tissue or cancer at an early stage, as it may be easier to treat. If abnormal tissue is found during a screening, additional diagnostic tests are conducted to determine if you have cancer.

Regular screenings make it possible to catch potential problems early. There are three types of screenings to help women catch breast cancer early:

By the age of 20, women should examine their breasts every month, feeling for any changes in tissue. If you find something that seems unusual, have a doctor check it out as soon as possible.

A clinical breast examination by your physician should be part of your routine exam. Beginning at age 20, women should have a clinical breast exam every two to three years. During a clinical breast exam, your physician will examine the breasts, feeling for any lumps or unusual tissue.

A mammogram is an X-ray of the breast and is performed with a specially designed X-ray machine. The breast is positioned between two plates that flatten the breast to spread out the tissue and help identify any abnormal areas. Most standard mammographic work-ups include two views of each breast taken from different angles. This way the breasts can be compared and checked for abnormalities. If you have had a mammogram in the past, the radiologist will compare your old mammogram to the new one to look for changes.

Many national health organizations recommend that women over the age of 40 receive annual mammography screenings. Women under the age of 40 with either a family history of breast cancer or other concerns about their personal breast health should consult their doctor about when to start screenings. It is widely recommended that women get a baseline mammogram at age 35 for comparison with all later images. Breast self-exams should begin even earlier.

Although mammograms detect most breast cancers, they are not foolproof. While mammograms are sensitive, they are not as specific; meaning that when an abnormality is detected, the reader cannot necessarily tell what it is. Additionally, normal breast tissue can hide breast cancer, so that it does not show up on the mammogram. This is called a false negative. An abnormality that looks like cancer on a mammogram could turn out to be normal. This "false alarm" is called a false positive. To make up for these limitations, testing beyond mammography is sometimes necessary.

In the event that a mammogram is suspect of cancer, the next step is diagnostic testing. Current protocols include ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), nuclear medicine techniques or blood tests. The latest "next step" test to be introduced is Breast-Specific Gamma Imaging (BSGI), a functional medicine technique that creates an image of cell activity and can differentiate cancerous cells from non-cancerous.