With the growing number of cancer patients dying each year, actions to lessen the mortality rate have been taken. One of which is the recommendation of the American Cancer Society for women to undergo regular screening mammography for the early detection of breast cancer.
Last October 20, 2015, new guidelines have been published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Included therein is the recommendation for women to start having yearly mammograms at age 45 (and can change to having mammograms every other year beginning at age 55). Screening tests are used to find cancer before a person has any symptoms and are recommended to adults.
The new recommendations
According to Dr. Richard C. Wender, MD, the Society’s Chief Cancer Control Officer, "since we last wrote a breast cancer screening guideline, there have been the publication of quite a number of new studies that inform us about the benefits and drawbacks of screening with mammography, so the American Cancer Society commissioned a detailed evidence review by an external expert group to review all of this new data which was then presented to our American Cancer Society guideline committee. That committee then considered all of this evidence over a period of months, did the very difficult job of balancing the benefits and harms, and that’s what led to the change in the guidelines that we’re publishing now."
The guidelines below are for women who are at average risk of breast cancer. While women at high risk – because of family history, a breast condition, or another reason – need to begin screening earlier and/or more often.
Women with an average risk of breast cancer – most women – should begin yearly mammograms at age 45.
Women should be able to start the screening as early as age 40, if they want to. It’s a good idea to start talking to your health care provider at age 40 about when you should begin screening.
At age 55, women should have mammograms every other year – though women who want to keep having yearly mammograms should be able to do so.
Regular mammograms should continue for as long as a woman is in good health.
Breast exams, either from a medical provider or self-exams, are no longer recommended.
Why the need for new guidelines
Prevention is always better than cure. The main goal of screening mammograms is to find breast cancer early, when treatment is more likely to be successful. However, mammograms also have risks as sometimes mammograms find something suspicious that turns out to be harmless, but must be checked out through more tests that also carry risks such as pain, anxiety, and other side effects. Benefits and risks are being weighed carefully by experts when making recommendations about who should be screened.
"This guideline makes it so clear that all women by age 45 should begin screening – that’s when the benefits substantially outweigh the harms," said Dr. Wender.
Once a woman turns 55, however, screening every other year preserves most of the benefit of screening every year, with fewer risks, according to Elizabeth T.H. Fontham, MPH, DrPH, member of the Guideline Development Group.
Patients should also take note that breast exams are no longer a part of the screening recommendations since research does not show they provide a clear benefit. However, the American Cancer Society says all women should be familiar with how their breasts normally look and feel and report any changes to their health care provider right away.
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