age guidelines for mammograms
A. No. Some recommend more screening, and some less. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network, an alliance of prominent cancer centers, recommends mammograms every year starting at age 40. A. The American Cancer Society issued new guidelines on Tuesday, recommending that women with an average risk of breast cancer have mammography starting at age 45 and continuing once a year until 54, and then every other year for as long as they are healthy and likely to live another 10 years. Previously, the society recommended mammograms every year starting at 40. But the cancer society said that women 40 to 44 should still “have the opportunity” to have mammograms if they want them, and that women 55 and older should be able to have them once a year if they choose. You are at average risk if you have: You are at above-average risk if you have any of the following: Our doctors recommend the following breast cancer screening guidelines based on four different levels of risk. They recommend that women in any of these categories perform an optional monthly breast self-examination (BSE) beginning at age 20. The benefits of mammography outweigh the small risks associated with the radiation exposure; radiation exposure in a mammogram is less than that obtained on a transcontinental flight. Physician groups differ in their specific recommendations for mammogram screening guidelines, including the age at which women should begin having mammograms. The mammogram is a quick procedure and involves mild discomfort as the breasts are compressed for a few seconds to obtain the image. Burhenne LW. Breast cancer screening with imaging: recommendations from the Society of Breast Imaging and the ACR on the use of mammography, breast. MRI, breast ultrasound, and other technologies for the detection of clinically occult breast cancer. Journal of the American College of Radiology 2010;7(1):18–27. If you have a family history of breast cancer: 1  CBE every three to six months starting at the same time as the earliest diagnosis in your family. 2  annual mammography starting no later than ten years before the age of the earliest diagnosis in the family (but not earlier than age 25 and not later than age 40) Breast Cancer Screening Guidelines for Women, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; CDC, U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, American Cancer Society, International Agency for Research on Cancer, IARC, AAFP, American Academy of Family Physicians, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American College of Physicials, 2016. A mammogram is a special X-ray examination of the breast made with specific X-ray equipment that can often find tumors too small to be felt. A mammogram is one of the best radiographic methods available today to detect breast cancer early. However, studies to date have not shown a benefit from regular screening mammography in women under age 40 or from baseline screening mammograms (mammograms used for comparison) taken before age 40. The benefits of screening mammography need to be balanced against its harms, which include:
Recommended mammograms every year starting at 40. But the cancer society said that women 40 to 44 should still “have the opportunity” to have mammograms if they want them, and that women 55 and older should be able to have them once a year if they choose.