DANVILLE, Pa. — Mammograms are used by health care providers to look for early signs of breast cancer. Officials are now recommending people get them a decade earlier than previously recommended.
The United States Preventive Services Task Force says mammograms should now begin at age 40 for most patients.
"The message is clear: If you're 40, we want you to start screening for breast cancer with mammography," said Dr. John Farrell, Geisinger breast imaging radiologist.
Previous guidelines said women who are of average risk for breast cancer should start getting screened at age 50, and women with an increased risk should be screened at 40.
These new recommendations are something Geisinger radiologists have been advocating for decades. Dr. Farrell says breast cancer cases are increasing in women who are in their 40s.
"By not screening women in their 40s, and specifically black women in their 40s, we're missing, we're not diagnosing a lot of cancers in a timely fashion."
Dr. Farrell says these changes in screening guidelines are expected to save around 20 percent more lives. The new guidelines recommend screening for breast cancer every other year.
"There's still a little work to be done, in our opinion, to get it to be every year, but starting at 40 is a major improvement in these recommendations."
It's important to note that if a patient is considered high-risk, these guidelines may not apply.
"If a patient is high-risk, they may need to be screened younger than the age of 40, and they may also qualify for additional screening tests such as ultrasounds or breast MRIs in addition to an annual mammogram."
Dr. Farrell says that if one of your family members is diagnosed with breast cancer, that could change your own risk.