Women should be getting mammograms earlier than previously recommended, according to the United States Preventive Services Task Force. They’re the independent national group of experts that sets standards for tests and screenings and they now recommend that women should be screened for breast cancer every other year beginning at age 40 instead of 50.
The previous guidelines, which were last updated back in 2016, advised women younger than 50 who had concerns could talk to their doctors about screenings. But now this group, along with several others, including the American College of Radiology, the American Society of Breast Surgeons, and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, recommend mammograms starting at age 40. According to the task force, screening at age 40 could save 19% more lives.
Breast cancer clinicians have been calling for lowering the recommended age for a woman’s first mammogram, especially for Black women, who are more likely to be diagnosed at a younger age and are 40% more likely to die of breast cancer than white women. Breast cancer accounts for nearly 30% of new cancers in U.S. women every year and it’s estimated that one in eight women will develop breast cancer during their lifetime.
Source: USA Today