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When Should You Start Getting Mammograms?

When I was a medical student in the 1970’s, a diagnosis of breast cancer was tantamount to a death sentence. We have come a very long way since then and now breast cancer is curable. The survival rate when it is detected early is 93 percent.

The key as you can see is to detect it early. How do we do that? The answer is mammography. From my own experience with my patients I can say that the last several breast cancers I have detected were not palpable.  No one could feel them, not me and not my patients. They were very small and very treatable.

There have been many different recommendations in the last few years and that has made it confusing.  The United States Preventive Services Task Force  (USPSTF) recommends mammograms start at age 50, and are done every one to two years based on risk. The American Cancer Society (ACS) recommends they start at 40 and are done yearly.  Breast self exam is optional.

Here is the problem as I see it with the USPSTF recommendations. When breast cancer is detected in younger women prior to menopause it is usually a more aggressive form of cancer. If women from age 40 to 50 wait 10 years for their first mammogram it will potentially be too late to catch it early if they have a developing cancer.

I agree with the ACS. I recommend that my patients start yearly mammograms at age 40. The amount of radiation is small and the potential lifesaving benefits are great.  There is no way around it.  Mammograms save lives and ultimately quality of lives.

I agree that it is not the most comfortable test in the world.   I remember one time when the technician lifted me up so high on the breast press that I was on my tiptoes and then dangling off the ground! That was not good. Since then I ask for someone who has a better position sense.

My advice is to find the best breast-imaging center in your area and make sure you go yearly starting at age 40.  If you have a strong family history of breast cancer you may need to start earlier. The bottom line is to make mammography part of your yearly wellness plan.

Do you know everything you should know about a mammogram exam? Take our quiz here.

Have you had a mammogram before? Tell us about it in the comments box below.

File under: Expert Spotlight

Contributor

Robin Miller

Dr. Robin Miller, Sharecare Editorial Advisory Board Member, currently practices Internal Medicine and serves as the medical director of Triune Integrative Medicine, a highly innovative Integrative Medicine clinic in Medford, Oregon. She has produced the award-winning health series, “Is there a Doctor in the House,” which is shown nationwide on the GE-sponsored Patient Channel, and is the author of "Kids Ask the Doctor" and the co-author of “The Smart Woman's Guide to Midlife and Beyond: A No-Nonsense Approach to Staying Healthy after 50".

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Comments

  1. Donna Taylor

    My cancer was not detected by a mammogram. I had mammograms done yearly. My breast started showing changes and my GYN sent me for a biopsy which was diagnosed as cancer. My cancer was at stage IIIC when I started treatment. While I was in treatment I met many ladies going through chemo that were in there 30s some were diagnosed by mammogram and some were not. I will share your article with my friends list. Thank you

    July 31st, 2012, 3:39 pm
  2. ann

    I have gotten annual mammograms faithfully since age 40 with no call backs, no concerns. At age 50, my annual mammogram detected a small tumor, not palpable, and I was diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma, stage I. I had no family history of breast cancer and none of the risk factors. Because it was found early, I was treated with surgery and radiation and am now doing very well on Tamoxifen, one year later. I am thankful that my doctors continued recommending annual mammograms, as you do. And for excellent medical care from my entire treatment team. Though it may not find all cancers, it is still a very valuable tool. I will share this article with friends and continue to urge every woman over 40 to go for mammograms annually.

    August 7th, 2012, 4:20 pm
  3. Nancy Healy

    I had a mammogram just this morning. It seems the machines have been improved. Instead of the hard cold plastic shelf where the breast is placed, it is now covered with a material that feels neutral. Neither warm or cold and somehow soft. The technician was great and very considerate. Most cities have so many Radiology Departments these days they need to give good customer service or patients will take their business elsewhere. I’m truly blessed and have never had breast cancer but the test does give me some peace of mind.

    August 7th, 2012, 5:25 pm
  4. Jeanne Dolon

    I had a lump in my breast that hurt when I was 49 years old. I had been having annual mammograms and appts with a breast surgeon since I was 40 based on a family history of breast cancer and fibrocystic breasts.

    My lump hurt very badly. I called my surgeon]s office and asked to make an appt as I was concerned. I advised had my annual mammo a month prior. I was put on hold and was advised the surgeon felt there was no need for me to be checked as my mammo was clear and was also told that breast lumps don’t hurt. I told the nurse I had read articles that contradicted that school of thought. They wouldn’t see me. I called back a week later and literally begged to be seen and that my insurance cover the visit.

    On that note they scheduled an appt. The doctor did an ultrasound which showed nothing. He reviewed the mammography report and was considered normal. I started to cry and he said “if it would make me feel better” he would do a biospy. As it turned out I had Stage II carcinoma of the breast which had infiltrated into my lymph nodes. I had a lumpectomy and 17 lymph nodes removed. Then chemotherapy for 8 weeks followed by radiation for 6 weeks. I am very happy to say that was 9 years ago and I am cancer free. And I have become an advocate for women who have painful lumps that are dismissed as being benign without so much as an exam because nothing showed up on their annual screenings. It was like I said to the surgeon, “if it turns out to be nothing, I will never have been so happy to be wrong”.

    August 7th, 2012, 6:34 pm
  5. Kelly

    I have had 6 mamagrams now. They were all okay. I have no history and I breastfed for a total of 30 months. That is suppose to help

    August 7th, 2012, 9:43 pm
  6. Kim Fay

    I am a xray technologist who has been doing mammograms for 30 years. I have seen MANY changes in mammography over the years (unfortunately-the compression has not changed!) but one thing I can definitively say is that mammograms DO save lives. Yes mammograms and even ultrasounds are not perfect. There can be times when something is missed. Nothing in the medical field is 100% accurate every single time. But the benefits DO out weigh the risks. Calcifications can ONLY be seen on mammograms. You will never feel calcifications and they could potentially turn into cancer down the line. You need to have a annual mammogram,have an annual breast exam by a physician who knows how to do a thorough breast exams- like a gynecologist and do your own breast exam once a month-preferably after your period. By doing all three, your are doing the most that you can possibly do. and to those women who complain about the discomfort of the exam-isn’t the thought of a life saving exam enough to endure less than 5 minutes of discomfort? If you can have a baby, you can do ANYTHING!

    August 7th, 2012, 10:15 pm
  7. Peggy Swoboda

    I haven’t had a mammagram in 3 years. I am 64 years old. There has been no breast cancer in my family. However, my mammagrams have shown calicifications. Should I be concerned?

    August 8th, 2012, 1:34 pm

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