Yay! The latest recommendations for breast cancer screening is no routine screening for women under 50 unless they’re in a high risk class, mammos every two years for women 50-74, consult with doctor if 75 or older. Routine mammograms have benefits, but they also have considerable harms in overdiagnosis and false positives. Plus, mammograms are nasty and uncomfortable, so the fewer are necessary, the better.
I wholeheartedly disagree, I know three folks personally who were diagnosed with cancer on their first mammogram. All in their early forties. None had a family history.
I just turned 62 and I haven’t had a mammogram for at least 5 years…
Recommendations are for the general population. Obviously, other risk factors may necessitate getting them earlier. But, when people make population-level recommendations, they do it based on studies showing where the benefits outweigh the harms- again, for a population.
There will always be people who slip through the cracks. I know one woman who had breast cancer in her late 20s with no family history. But anecdotes don’t dictate population-level policy (thankfully).
@Consolation, why have you decided not to have mammos? When I heard about the Canadian study showing no benefit for mammograms for women under 60, I stopped having them (and wished I hadn’t had the earlier ones), but I don’t know about data for women in older age groups.
Why has no one yet invented bra-shaped mammogram machines?
When I was under 50, it was yearly when you are older than 40. Now I’m older than fifty and they changed the rule.
@CardinalFang, I really haven’t decided not to have them. My doctor hasn’t mentioned it, and I haven’t said anything about it. I have T2 diabetes, extremely well controlled by diet, and we have mostly talked about lipid panels and statins as health issues. I suppose that I ought to consider having one, bu tI have no family history. To my knowledge, my 92-yr-old mother has never had one since she had a lumpectomy when I was about 4 or 5 years old!
I think that while there should be a screening test at whatever age is recommended, 40?
If you’ve had several clear mammograms, maybe you aren’t as high risk as someone who is diagnosed with their first mammogram.
I also haven’t had one for about 4+ years. I’m under 60.
They’ve updated the frequency of Pap smears also I think.
Most women who get breast cancer don’t have a family history of breast cancer.
But mammograms were initially overhyped, and now researchers are concluding that they are not indicated for women under 50, and the Canadian study says they aren’t indicated for women under 60 either. When I get to 70, are they going to tell me that the mammograms I had between ages 60 and 70 were useless too? Mammograms are radiation. In addition to detecting cancers, they also will cause cancers.
My doctor told me to get one but I think the last time I had it was more than 2 years ago.
I’ve had at least 4 mammograms. One or two before my breast reduction, another after, for a baseline. Then a digital one and another to get a better look.
And why don’t radiologists give me a lead apron anymore when I’m having other X-rays?
I might want more kids!
And that’s why we need to self-check, Dr check and get mammograms.
I’ve always joked that if the method of testing for testicular cancer involved the same process as mammograms, a better way would have quickly been invented. The saliva test seem like a great step in the right direction.
Yea… I call them slammograms.
Missed my mamos for 3 years finally got one last week…they found something and I am going back thursday for more tests. I am under 50 but have a strong family history. DON’T WAIT IF YOU ARE HIGH RISK!!! GET YOUR MAMOS!
Better news than the change in age recommendation was today’s news of new affordable genetic testing. As someone who has an Ashkenazi background and a family history this is very very good news.
For men, prostate cancer screening with PSA has many of the same issues – lots of false positives resulting in invasive secondary screening, and a high risk of undesirable effects of treatment if cancer is detected (but most prostate cancers are slow growing and unlikely to kill before something else does). Prostate cancer screening and treatment is a gravy train for urologists, but the number screened, treated, and suffering undesired effects of treatment per prostate cancer death prevented is quite high.
Thermography is said to be quite good for very early detection. But I think you need the baseline done in your 40’s for it to be most effective. No radiation which is what I like about it.
@LKnomad: You know that many funky things that are found on mammo turn out to be nothing. Good luck on Thursday.
I thought I could address this. I have no family history of breast cancer, in fact no family history of cancer, very unusual.
I skipped a year but had a mammogram in February. They called right back and wanted more pictures, they had done that the last time because apparently I have very dense breasts. So I went back, I even joked with my H, did he want to come? Well, that test came back abnormal, I was asked if I brought someone with me, opps!
They found some abnormal spots and needed to do a biopsy. This time I brought the H lol! It was some spots in a part of my breast in the back and I would never have felt any lumps. Besides they were really small and actually it was hard to even do a biopsy as it was a hard to get to spot.
Good news is that everything turned out ok and no cancer. But now I will need mammograms every 6 months for 2 years.
What I am trying to say is that there are outcomes and other things that are not cancer. But I am glad to find that out and know that. It could have been cancer and I would never known had I not had that mammogram.