Concerns about having an alternative breast screening service has been raised by the chief executive of the New South Wales Cancer Institute in north coast doctors.

Local beauty clinics are offering safe Breast Imaging and they are being advertized as an alternative to the mammogram.

Concerns have been shown by about eight north coast doctors and they added that these clinics have not been proved to detect breast cancer.

Professor David Currow stated that risk should be calculative and one can not take a chance when it comes to life and death.

He added, "Screening mammography offered by Breastscreen Australia is the only technology that has been demonstrated to actually reduce mortality. We are talking about life and death here and we have current Australian data that says we've reduced mortality from breast cancer by more than 25 per cent because of breast screening with digital mammography."

Jo Firth from Safe Breast Imaging stated that comparative analysis of the electrical impedance scanner would be welcomed but as of now no clinical institute that is willing to do the trials has been identified.