A woman should talk with her health care provider about her personal risk of getting breast cancer. She should ask questions about when to start and how often to be checked for the disease. These decisions, like many other medical decisions, should fit each woman's needs.
Screening for cancer before there are symptoms can be important. It can help doctors find and treat cancer early. Treatment is more likely to be effective when cancer is found early.
The health care provider may suggest screening tests to check for breast cancer before any symptoms develop: