Breast cancer screening programme in Lithuania: who qualifies and how to book

What the programme is and who it is for

The breast cancer screening programme (Krūties vėžio prevencinė programa) is built around mammography — an X-ray examination that helps spot changes in breast tissue earlier than they can be felt. The Valstybinė ligonių kasa (VLK, the National Health Insurance Fund) pays for it for women aged 45 to 74 inclusive, every 2 years, once you have a referral from your family doctor (šeimos gydytojas). Regular screening in this age group is associated with fewer deaths from breast cancer, because treatment can be started earlier.

How to get the mammogram

• Contact your family doctor (šeimos gydytojas) for a referral for the mammogram.
• Once you have the referral, book an appointment in advance (in person or by phone) at a healthcare facility that has a mammography machine and a contract with the ligonių kasa (the health insurance fund).
• Your family doctor tells you the results, once they receive them from the centre that reads the mammograms.

The tests involved

What a mammogram can and cannot show

It is worth understanding what a mammogram can and cannot show. The examination can detect an early cancer, but also a change that later turns out to be benign — in that case further tests are ordered. Sometimes a mammogram can also miss a change, especially if the breast tissue is dense, so a single "good" result is not an absolute guarantee, and the programme itself provides for a repeat mammogram every 2 years.

An abnormal (unclear) mammogram result does not in itself mean cancer. Most often a further test is needed, for example a breast ultrasound, which helps tell a fluid-filled cyst apart from dense tissue. If uncertainty remains after that, the doctor may order a biopsy — the only test that reliably answers whether the change is malignant. In every case the final assessment is made by a doctor, looking at the tests as a whole rather than at a single result.

When to see a doctor without waiting for your next mammogram

• If you yourself feel a new lump, thickening or swelling in the breast — see a doctor without waiting for your scheduled mammogram date.
• If you notice skin changes on the breast (redness, dimpling, flaking or crusting skin) or a nipple that has turned inward — it is worth seeing a doctor without delay.
• If unusual nipple discharge appears, especially with blood — that is a reason to see a doctor straight away.
• If you are outside the programme's age group but feel uneasy about changes in your breast — contact your family doctor, who will assess the situation and order tests if needed.
• Where to go: your family doctor (šeimos gydytojas) is who to contact about any of the changes above; if you need emergency help, call 112 anywhere in Lithuania.