Breast Cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in the UK. It is important that cancers are detected early. The earlier the diagnosis, the better the outcome. Breast screening can help us to see small changes in the breast which can be too small to be felt by you or your GP.
Why have I received a letter?
At North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust we work under the guidance of the National Breast Screening Programme and offer a well woman service to all eligible women who are aged between 50 and 71.
If you are in this age range you will be routinely invited for a mammogram – which is an x-ray of your breast tissue. You will be invited every three-years at a location which is convenient and close to where you live. No need to contact us as your invitation will arrive through the post.
You will usually be screened on one of our mobile units, at GP surgeries or within hospital grounds. We also have a number of static screening departments throughout the region.
Not all sites will run at the same time, but everywhere will offer a three-yearly mammogram. You will be offered an appointment at the closest distance to you. Or you can choose to book an appointment at an available site to fit your schedule.
It is important to know that even when you are beyond the age of 71 you can still book and attend for a mammogram. Women wishing to book an appointment should contact our admin team on the number below. They will be happy to help you.
If you are invited to one of our assessment clinics, you will receive a text reminder prior to this appointment.
Contact to change your appointment
Get in touch to change the time or date of your appointment.
Phone
01642 624261
What to expect at a breast screening appointment
What to expect at a breast screening appointment
Hi, I’m Shazia. I’m here to talk to you about breast screening.
I will take you through a breast screening appointment at Middlesbrough, provided by North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust,
This is a static site, but remember the same service and test is provided on the mobile vans arriving on the day.
There are signs to guide you.
You are welcome to bring someone along with you a support or to assist you. Please note, any male chaperones will not be permitted beyond reception in static sites or on the mobile screening vans, so you may wish to consider taking a female friend or family member.
Mammograms are done by a specialist called a mammographer. All mammographers in the breast screening service are women.
At reception, a friendly receptionist will confirm a few details with you, such as your name and address. Then you will be asked to wait in reception for your appointment.
When you are called through for your appointment, you will be shown to a changing room and asked to undress from the waist up.
Top tip it is advisable to wear something where you can easily undress to the waist and have something to put back on while you wait for your appointment. Wearing separate tops, slips, trousers, leggings, shalwar will make things easier.
Once you’re in the screen room, you would need to remove your hijab, your top or your kameez. You are in a safe female only environment when you do this so your modesty will not be compromised.
There will be no males beyond reception, which may help you decide if you wish to remove your traditional headwear.
Before going into the actual screening room, you can leave your belongings in the changing room. No one else will have access to this room.
This is a machine which will undertake the X-ray. The female radiographer will explain how the breast X-ray mammogram is taken.
Then you will be asked to fully undress from the waist up. You may have to rearrange and in some instances remove your headwear or hijab for a clear X-ray of your breast to be taken.
During the X-ray, four images would be taken – one of each breast from the front and one of each breast at an angle.
The mammographer will guide you into two different positions, which you will repeat for each side. They will also assist to make sure your breast is positioned correctly.
This will require the female mammography to physically position your breast on X-ray machine.
To get a clear image, the X-ray machine needs to touch your breast briefly to take the image. The machine will apply a little pressure on your breast as it touches it to take the image.
The pressure feels similar to the pressure you feel when having your blood pressure taken. You may experience some brief discomfort, but it should not be painful.
The pressure is applied for a short time. Once it images taken, it stops.
You will then be shown to your changing room to get dressed. Once you are dressed, you’re able to leave.
The whole appointment should take around six minutes
You will usually get your results within two weeks of your breast screening appointment. This will be sent to you by letter. We will also send this to the GP surgery that you registered with.
Try not to worry if it takes longer to get your results. You can call the breast screening service to see if they have any updates.
Sometimes some women after an appointment need to be recalled for another scan either because the image was not clear or something has been picked up that needs further investigation.
There is a high chance that you will need to be recalled if this is your first appointment, as there are no other images to compare your results to. But this is normal.
If anything is picked up in the images that your health professionals are concerned about, they will get in touch with you between breast screening appointments.
It is still important that you check your breasts regularly. Use this QR code to see the symptoms and signs of cancer available in different languages.
If you have any of these symptoms, get an appointment with your GP. Do not wait for your next breast screening appointment.
For more information about breast screening, such as what happens at your appointment or where you’ll have it, search NHS breast screening on the NHS website.
Very high risk breast screening for some women following chest radiotherapy for Hodgkin lymphoma
The NHS is contacting a group of 1,487 women across the country who had radiotherapy above their waist to treat Hodgkin lymphoma when aged between 10 to 35 years during 1962 to 2003 who should have been referred for annual MRI checks (and depending on their age, a mammogram).
As the regional breast screening unit, we will follow up this initial contact to the small number of women in our communities who have been identified as higher risk with letters from week commencing 11 March 2024.
We understand that some women will be concerned but we will contact every woman identified, offering appointments and support as required. You do not need to contact us beforehand.
The NHS website has more information.
Our Screening Locations
Our locations can be found on the breast screening locations page.
Please be aware that not all locations are available all the time. Locations vary over a three-year rotational period.
Please note:
If you are worried or have concerns about any changes to your breasts, please see your GP immediately. Do not wait for your screening invitation.
Frequently asked questions
A full resource of our commonly asked questions can be found on our frequently asked questions page.