National and Local Cancer Screening

What is screening?

Screening is a way of identifying apparently healthy people who may have an increased risk of a particular condition. The NHS offers a range of screening tests to different sections of the population.

Benefits, risks and limitations of screening

Making an informed choice

Before having any screening test, it’s worth finding out about the test itself and what would happen next if you found out you have a higher risk of a particular condition.

Deciding whether or not to have a screening test is a personal choice and one which only you can make. When you are invited for screening, you will receive an information leaflet about the screening test.

You can discuss any aspect of the screening test with your health professional and decide whether or not it’s right for you.

Different types of screening have different benefits and risks. Some of these are listed below.

The benefits of having a screening test include:

• Screening can detect a problem early, before you have any symptoms.
• Finding out about a problem early can mean that treatment is more effective.
• Finding out you have a health problem or an increased chance of a health problem can help people make better informed decisions about their health.
• Screening can reduce the chance of developing a condition or its complications.
• Some deaths from abdominal aortic aneurysms, bowel cancer, breast cancer and cervical cancer can be prevented.

The risks and limitations of screening include:

• Screening tests are not 100% accurate. You could be told you have a problem when you do not – this is called a “false positive” and may lead to some people having unnecessary further tests or treatment as a result of screening. A screening test could also miss a problem – this is called a “false negative” and could lead to people ignoring symptoms in the future.
• Some screening tests can lead to difficult decisions. For example, if a pregnancy screening test tells you your baby has a higher chance of having a particular condition, you may then be faced with a decision about having further diagnostic tests that involve a risk to your pregnancy. If the diagnostic test is positive, you may then need to decide whether to continue with your pregnancy.
• Finding out you may have a health problem can cause considerable anxiety.
• Even if your screening test result is normal or negative (meaning you are not at high risk), you could still go on to develop the condition.

(NHS, 2024)