The earlier breast cancer is found, the more easily and successfully it can be treated. The most common methods for detecting breast cancer include:

• Mammogram. A mammogram is an X-ray of the breast that can often find tumors that are too small for you or your health professional to feel. Your health professional may suggest that you have a screening mammogram, especially if you have any risk factors for breast cancer. The usefulness of mammograms may vary depending on your age; this issue is still being debated by experts.
• Clinical breast examination (CBE). During a clinical breast examination, your health professional will carefully feel your breasts and under your arms to check for lumps or other unusual changes.
• Breast self-examination (BSE). A breast self-examination (BSE) is a simple procedure to help you detect breast lumps. Medical experts disagree about the need for regular breast self-examinations. Studies have failed to show that BSE alone reduces the number of deaths from breast cancer. Therefore, BSE should not be used in place of clinical breast examination and mammography.
• MRI of the breast. MRI may be more sensitive than a mammogram in detecting tumors in women who have a strong family history of breast cancer. ¹⁰

The frequency of breast cancer screening depends on your age.

• Ages 18 to 39: You should have a clinical breast examination every 3 years. If you have a high risk of developing breast cancer, talk to your health professional about when to begin having annual mammograms.
• Ages 40 to 69: Annual clinical breast examinations are recommended for women in this age group. Annual mammography is recommended for women over age 50. If you are in this age group, discuss the medical evidence concerning mammograms with your doctor when deciding how often to have a mammogram.
  • Many organizations, such as the American Cancer Society and the American College of Radiologists, recommend mammograms every year for women between the ages of 40 and 49.
  • Other organizations, such as the National Cancer Institute, recommend mammograms every 1 to 2 years.
• Ages 70 and over: Very few studies give information about how effective breast cancer screening is for women over age 70. However, the risk of breast cancer increases with age, and the age at which screening is no longer useful in reducing death from breast cancer is not known. If you are in this age group, talk to your health professional about mammography as a regular part of your health care plan. ¹¹

If your health professional suspects you have breast cancer, tests you may have include:

• Mammogram, if one has not already been done
• Ultrasound. You may have an ultrasound of the breast if a lump is found during a clinical breast examination or on a mammogram. Breast ultrasound is used to locate breast problems, including lumps caused by breast cancer. It is often used to distinguish between solid lumps and fluid-filled (cystic) lumps. ¹²
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the breast, which is sometimes used to locate breast problems, including lumps caused by breast cancer. It is often used to distinguish between solid lumps and fluid-filled (cystic) lumps.
• Breast biopsy. If a lump is found in your breast, your doctor will need to remove a small piece of the lump (biopsy) and look at it under the microscope to see whether any cancer cells are present. A needle biopsy is done by inserting a needle into the breast and removing some of the tissue. Tests that may be performed on the breast cancer cells include:
  • Estrogen and progesterone receptor status. The hormones estrogen and progesterone, stimulate the growth of normal breast cells and some breast cancers. Estrogen and progesterone receptors may affect whether tumor cell growth is regulated, in part, by hormones.
  • HER-2 receptor status. HER-2/neu is a protein that regulates the growth of some breast cancer cells. About 25% of women with breast cancer have too much (overexpression) of this growth-promoting protein.
• Complete blood count (CBC), to provide important information about the kinds and numbers of cells in your blood, including red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets
• Chemistry screen, to measure the levels of several substances (such as liver functions) in your blood
• Chest X-ray, to provide a picture of organs and structures within your chest, including your heart and lungs, your blood vessels, and the thin sheet of muscle just below your lungs (diaphragm)

If your doctor suspects that breast cancer may have spread to other organs in your body (metastasized), additional testing may include:

• CT scan, to provide detailed pictures of the organs and structures in your chest, abdomen, and pelvis.
• Bone scan, to detect cancer that has spread (metastasized) to the bones.
• CT scan or MRI of the brain, to provide detailed pictures of your brain and to check for cancer that may have spread to your brain.

What to think about

You have an increased risk for developing a new or second breast cancer (metastatic or recurrent breast cancer) if you have had breast cancer in one breast. To be sure that the cancer has not returned, you will have regular checkups that include physical examinations and mammograms.

If you find any unusual changes in the treated area or in your other breast, or if you have swollen lymph glands or bone pain, call your doctor to discuss these changes. For more information, see the topic Breast Cancer, Metastatic or Recurrent.

Early Detection

Early detection is an important factor in the success of breast cancer treatment. The earlier breast cancer is found, the more easily and successfully it can be treated. The three methods used for early detection are:

• Mammogram. A mammogram is an X-ray of the breast that can often find tumors that are too small for you or your health professional to feel. Your health professional may suggest that you have a screening mammogram, especially if you have any risk factors for breast cancer. The usefulness of mammograms may vary depending on your age and is still being debated by experts.
• Clinical breast examination (CBE). During a clinical breast examination, your health professional will carefully feel your breasts and under your arms to check for lumps or other unusual changes.
• Breast self-examination (BSE). A breast self-examination (BSE) is a simple procedure to help you detect breast lumps. Medical experts disagree about the need for regular breast self-examinations. Studies have failed to show that BSE alone reduces the number of deaths from breast cancer. Therefore, BSE should not be used in place of clinical breast examination and mammography.

The frequency of breast cancer screening depends on your age.

• Ages 18 to 39: You should have a clinical breast examination every 3 years. If you have a high risk for developing breast cancer, talk to your health professional about when to begin having annual mammograms.
• Ages 40 to 69: Annual clinical breast examinations are recommended for women in this age group. Annual mammography is recommended for women over age 50. Women in this age group should discuss the medical evidence concerning mammograms with their doctors when deciding how often to have a mammogram.
  • Many organizations, such as the American Cancer Society and the American College of Radiologists, recommend mammograms every year for women between the ages of 40 and 49.
  • Other organizations, such as the National Cancer Institute, recommend mammograms every 1 to 2 years.
• Ages 70 and over: Very few studies give information about how effective breast cancer screening is for women over age 70. However, the risk of breast cancer increases with age, and the age at which screening is no longer useful in reducing death from breast cancer is not known. If you are in this age group, talk to your health professional about mammography as a regular part of your health care plan.

For more information about screening for breast cancer, see the following topics:

• Breast Cancer – Health Professional Information [Cancer.gov]
• Breast Cancer – Patient Information [Cancer.gov]