Screening is the method of detecting a cancer before it’s found by symptoms such as a lump at breast examination, skin dimpling, or a suspicious bloody or watery nipple discharge. Screening mammography identifies breast cancers at a smaller stage, before they can be felt, and when they’re less likely to have spread to other parts of the body. Screening is associated with a 40%–60% lower risk of dying from breast cancer and decreases the need for more aggressive breast surgery, like a mastectomy, or therapy (chemotherapy or radiation).
