New Cancer Treatment Guidelines Say Most Mammograms Can Wait Until Women Are 45 Years Old.
Mammograms can save you, but they can also be unnecessary exams, depending on when you have them. The American Cancer Society now recommends that women with an average breast cancer risk start mammograms at 45, rather than 40 as previously recommended.
Not only can women wait five years later to get an uncomfortable test, the new guidelines also state that once women turn 55, they can shorten mammograms to two years (rather than annually) – provided they are generally in good condition. health and life expectancy of at least 10 years.
Why new recommendations? ACS has updated its previous recommendations, adopted in 2003, based on a review of new evidence from research and screening programs. They are now attaching more importance to the greater disadvantages of these routine views. As NPR reports, there is a growing concern about the dangers of mammography:
The USPSTF [US Preventive Services Task Force] stated that when women in their 40s were regularly screened, many of them were subjected to unnecessary false alarms and treatments. An unnecessary biopsy can lead to radiation, chemotherapy, and even avoidable surgery, which may include a lumpectomy to remove tumors or abnormal cells that never become life-threatening. Some women even have an unnecessary mastectomy.
Also, as we mentioned in Vitals , mammograms use low doses of radiation and if they are not needed you can take that into account.
Big note: this does not mean mammography is useless, and these new guidelines only apply to women who have no higher than average breast cancer risk. If you have an increased risk of breast cancer, for example because of a family history of the disease, you should talk with your doctor about how to start testing early.
Breast Cancer Screening For Women At Average Risk | JAMA via NPR