Breast cancer screenings recommended to start at age 40

By Kathie J on April 30, 2024

Regular mammograms to screen for breast cancer should begin at age 40 and should happen every other year until age 74, according to a U.S. Task Force. Previous recommendations suggested the age for regular screenings should start at 50 years old.

The U.S. Task Force is now making the recommendations that were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association last year.

The need for earlier screening is due to the increasing amounts of breast cancer among women in their 40s — rising 2 percent annually since 2015 — and the higher breast cancer death rate among Black women.

Dr. John Wong of Tufts Medical Center in Boston said, “Sadly, we know all too well that Black women are 40 percent more likely to die from breast cancer than white women.” Modeling studies predict that earlier screening may help all women and have “even more benefit for women who are Black.”

Breast cancer is still the second-most common cause of cancer death for U.S. women. About 240,000 cases are diagnosed annually, and nearly 43,000 women die from breast cancer each year.

Kathie J just got her screening. There are numerous places within the Denver metro area to get a breast cancer screening. Read more here.

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