meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
Inside Health

Screening for Breast Cancer

Inside Health

BBC

Health & Fitness, Science

4.4575 Ratings

🗓️ 15 July 2014

⏱️ 29 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Switzerland looks set to be the first country in Europe to halt routine breast screening; yet in the UK a review of the same evidence came to the opposite conclusion. Dr Mark Porter asks how two groups of experts can arrive at such different decisions, and examines the harms and benefits of screening for breast cancer.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Hello, I'm Greg Jenna and good news, Your Dead to Me is back for a new series. Here we go. Yes, we'll explore Emperor Nero's notorious reign with Professor Marybeard and Patton Oswald. I would not want my daughter having the remote control, not alone an empire. We'll dissect the decadent life of Philippe Duke-Dor-Leon with Tom Allen. I've often tried to pretend I'm an aristocrat and been very quickly knocked down. And there'll be so much more with comedians like Olga Koch, Mike Mosniak and Rihalina. I'm excited. You're dead to me, the comedy podcast that takes history seriously. Listen first on BBC Sounds. Hello, I'm Dr Mark Porter and thank you for downloading this edition of Inside Health. I hope you enjoy it.

0:39.1

Today's program is all about screening for breast cancer. Switzerland looks set to become the first

0:44.8

country in Europe to halt routine screening. After reviewing the evidence, the Swiss

0:49.7

Medical Board felt the benefits were not great enough to justify continuing it. Yet here in the UK,

0:55.9

a similarly comprehensive review led by Sir Michael Marmot, and looking at the same evidence,

1:01.0

came to the opposite conclusion, namely that the UK's NHS breast cancer screening programme,

1:06.8

offering women between the ages of 50 and 70, a mammogram every three years, should continue.

1:12.5

So, how can two groups of experts arrive at such different conclusions?

1:17.4

If you're confused, rest assured you're not alone.

1:21.1

Susan Buley works in women's health.

1:23.4

She's professor of complex obstetrics at King's College London,

1:26.6

and being in her mid-50s is eligible for screening,

1:30.3

but has decided not to take up her invitation.

1:33.4

Like many of your listeners, I've got friends and relatives with breast cancer,

1:37.1

and I'm frightened of breast cancer.

1:38.8

But I've looked at the figures, and I don't think they're as good as people make out.

1:42.7

Everyone must make her own decision, based on her preferences and her values,

1:47.1

but we all need the same good quality information.

1:50.3

And I've looked at that, and I don't think all women are getting it.

1:53.5

What have you seen that our listeners might not have?

1:56.9

I've been following the debates and I've been reading the original articles.

2:01.9

I read the Marmot Review and I've made the calculations.

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.