American Cancer Society's Breast Cancer Detection Awareness Program: the 1988 middle Tennessee experience.

In an effort to augment public awareness of the benefits of screening mammography and to encourage the use of screening mammograms, the Tennessee Division of the American Cancer Society initiated the Breast Cancer Detection Awareness Program in March 1988. As a result of the initiative, 3,473 women telephoned for information, and 3,123 were found to be eligible for a screening mammogram. Of the 2,248 mammograms actually obtained, 1,764 (78%) were interpreted as normal, whereas 484 (22%) were classified as abnormal. Of the 484 women with abnormal mammograms, 277 (57%) were advised to have follow-up mammograms and 57 (12%) had excisional biopsy. The 55 biopsies reported showed benign changes in 83.6% and malignancy in 16.4%. Thus, nine malignancies were discovered from 2,248 screening mammograms (four malignancies per 1,000 mammograms). No malignancies were found in women between 35 and 39 years old.