Have You Had Your Mammogram Yet?
It's Breast Cancer Awareness Month-have you had your mammogram yet this year?
It can't be repeated enough that early detection is the best weapon against
breast cancer. Early diagnosis has helped decrease deaths from breast cancer
significantly in the past decade. Still, 41,000 women will die this year
of breast cancer. The American Cancer Society estimates that more than 14,000
of these premature deaths could be prevented if all women over 50 had mammograms
Most doctors recommend that their patients have a baseline mammogram at age
35. Why not earlier? Two reasons. First, mammograms are not as helpful in
evaluating the more dense breasts of younger women. Second, the incidence of
breast cancer increases dramatically between ages 30 and 35. One of 2500 30-year
olds have breast cancer; that number jumps to one of 600 35 year olds. By 40
one in 217 women will have breast cancer and one of 50 50 year olds are affected.
The percentages continue to increase as women age, until age 92 when one in
8 women will have breast cancer. For more information, click here.
Created: 10/5/2001  - Donnica Moore, M.D.