Over 50? Under 50? You Still Need Annual Mammograms. Period.

Headlines this week like “Less frequent mammograms don’t increase risks after age 50” have been littered with questionable punctuation. Reporting on a recent study published in JAMA that questions the value of annual mammograms in women over 50, these articles have only served to bring confusion to women everywhere! Please allow us to bring another form of punctuation to the conversation: the bullet point.

Facts

• One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime. Getting older is one of the known risk factors for breast cancer.

• The Society for Breast Imaging and the American College of Radiology find the new study flawed, by its dissimilar population comparisons, obsolete technologies used for detection and a disproportionate fear of false positives over cancer detection, as outlined here.

• While the study focuses on the population aged 50 and older as not presenting advanced symptoms, mammograms are not intended to only screen for advanced symptoms. They screen for any signs of breast cancer – early or advanced. Early detection is best – and it saves lives.

We are dedicated to women’s health and are disappointed by this misleading study and the news reports that followed. Please hold your health in high regard as we do and continue to get your annual mammogram, whether 40 or over 50!

Originally published on mammographykc.com on 3/26/13.