In 1974, The National Cancer Institute chose the Pacific Health Research Institute (PHRI) to undertake the ‘Breast Cancer Detection and Demonstration Project.’ The PHRI screened 10,000 women per year for five years and prospectively monitored their health to assess the effectiveness of mammograms in the early detection of breast cancer.

The resulting recommendation that mammograms be made part of a woman’s annual physical examination had a major national impact.