Breast: mammogram, ultrasound or MRI

Three tools cover breast imaging, and the right one depends on your age, your breast density and your family history.

The mammogram is the mainstay, an x-ray that is good at picking up early changes, especially in women past the menopause. The NHS invites women for a mammogram every three years from 50 to 70, and you can request one on the NHS after that. If you would like a mammogram sooner than 50, or between rounds, for instance with a family history, we arrange it.

Ultrasound earns its place in younger women and in dense breasts, where a mammogram sees less clearly, and for taking a closer look at a specific lump. It uses no radiation.

MRI is the most sensitive of the three, and it is reserved for the situations that warrant it: a high inherited risk such as a BRCA gene change, or dense breasts where a mammogram alone is not enough. It is not a routine test, because in lower-risk women it finds a lot that turns out to be nothing.

The same caveat runs across all breast imaging: the more sensitive the test, the more it finds, and not all of it matters. A recall for a closer look is common and usually ends in reassurance, but the wait is real. We will tell you which test fits your situation, and if a more sensitive scan would only generate findings to chase rather than answer your question, we will say so.

Ready to start? Choose the check that fits your question and tell us a little about yourself. A doctor reviews it, arranges what you need, and explains what it means. Most of it is done online, with the clinic there if you would rather be seen.