“Early detection” has been the rallying cry for many breast
cancer survivors and organizations, and for years that meant
getting a yearly mammogram once a woman turned 40. Now, however,
those guidelines have changed. Most women should start breast
cancer screening at the age of 50 instead of 40, 50- to 74-year-
old women should have mammograms every two years, and doctors
should stop teaching women to examine their breasts regularly,
according to the United States Preventative Services Task Force,
an independent committee of prevention and primary care experts
appointed by the federal Department of Health and Human
Services. These new guidelines reverse the task force’s previous
recommendation from seven years ago that said women age 40 or
older should have mammograms every one or two years. The new
recommendations don’t apply to women who are at a greater risk
for breast cancer because they have a gene mutation or have had
extensive chest radiation. The task force says the new
guidelines are meant to reduce t