About the mammography screening programme

Mammography is an X-ray examination of the breast, using special equipment, with the aim of detecting breast cancer as early as possible – at a stage at which it can be treated well, before it is palpable or causes discomfort.

The word ‘screening’ is used in medicine to describe examinations carried out on a large group of people for the early detection of a certain disease in a defined section of the population.

The main differences between an organised large-scale early-detection programme and an individual healthcare examination are that the former provides for:

• a system inviting all eligible women – on the basis of data provided by the Registration Office (Einwohnermeldeamt) – to come for an examination, thus addressing the broad population,
• comprehensive quality assurance with continuous improvements to all measures taken within the screening programme,
• a regular evaluation of the effectiveness of the programme and of the quality assurance measures.