Hello all women out there. I’m sure not every one of you made this kind of health check up. You should do it now. One of my friends asked me. She is 39 and confused about when she should begin having regular mammograms. She told me that she heard that some doctors advise beginning 35, some 40, and other says until 50. She asked me what’s best.
Even I’m not a doctor; I have a little knowledge of that. I told her that she have good reason to be confused. The consensus among doctors used to be that women ages 40 to 49 should get mammograms every one to two years. Then, a few years ago, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) sparked a heated debate about whether women that young needed to be screened. And the controversy hasn’t really been settled. In just a few weeks, the NCI is going to reexamine the issue, and you’re likely to read still more conflicting information.
Here’s what happened. In 1993, the NCI declared that there was no benefit in testing women in their 40s because studies showed that screening didn’t lead to higher survival rates. Many experts argued that the studies weren’t large enough to show a benefit for women in that age group, and some charged that the decision was clearly motivated by economic concerns, which caused an uproar. More than 20 other national medical groups, including the American Cancer Society and the American College of Obstetrician and Gynecologists, have continued to recommend regular screening for women in their 40s. Swedish researchers released the result of a soon-to-be-published study that shows that doing mammograms on women in their 40s does have a significant effect on survival rates.
Regardless of what the NCI decides, it has always made sense to me that 40 is the right time in a woman’s life to get a first mammogram. The incidence of cancers starts to creep up at this time and we know that early detection and treatment translate into a better chance for a cure. If the result of your mammogram are normal, you and your doctor can decide if you want to get one every year or every other year. At 50, begin annual mammograms. These guidelines change if you have a close relative (such as a mother or sister) with breast cancer. In this case, you should get your first mammogram before the age at which her cancer was diagnosed.
Even I’m not a doctor; I have a little knowledge of that. I told her that she have good reason to be confused. The consensus among doctors used to be that women ages 40 to 49 should get mammograms every one to two years. Then, a few years ago, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) sparked a heated debate about whether women that young needed to be screened. And the controversy hasn’t really been settled. In just a few weeks, the NCI is going to reexamine the issue, and you’re likely to read still more conflicting information.
Here’s what happened. In 1993, the NCI declared that there was no benefit in testing women in their 40s because studies showed that screening didn’t lead to higher survival rates. Many experts argued that the studies weren’t large enough to show a benefit for women in that age group, and some charged that the decision was clearly motivated by economic concerns, which caused an uproar. More than 20 other national medical groups, including the American Cancer Society and the American College of Obstetrician and Gynecologists, have continued to recommend regular screening for women in their 40s. Swedish researchers released the result of a soon-to-be-published study that shows that doing mammograms on women in their 40s does have a significant effect on survival rates.
Regardless of what the NCI decides, it has always made sense to me that 40 is the right time in a woman’s life to get a first mammogram. The incidence of cancers starts to creep up at this time and we know that early detection and treatment translate into a better chance for a cure. If the result of your mammogram are normal, you and your doctor can decide if you want to get one every year or every other year. At 50, begin annual mammograms. These guidelines change if you have a close relative (such as a mother or sister) with breast cancer. In this case, you should get your first mammogram before the age at which her cancer was diagnosed.
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