But some specialists consider the panel overstated the harms of extra frequent screenings. The applicable schedule for screenings can fluctuate from physician to physician, and affected person to affected person, and has turn into fairly complicated.
“Many women may not even be aware of the guidelines, or that there may be any downside to mammography, and that they have the option to begin screening at age 45 or 50,” Dr. Jennifer L. Marti, an assistant professor of surgical procedure at Weill Cornell Medicine who led the brand new research, mentioned in an interview. “In almost every other country, women start at 50.”
While many ladies would possibly assume that “the pros of breast cancer screening outweigh the harms,” Dr. Marti mentioned, that isn’t at all times the case for girls who aren’t at elevated danger.
Dr. Marti and her co-authors, Mark Lee and Neal Patel, two Weill Cornell researchers, determined to look at the suggestions posted on the web sites of some 606 breast most cancers facilities within the United States. They discovered that 376 facilities — over half — made suggestions that differed from these of the U.S. process drive, saying girls at common danger for breast most cancers ought to begin imaging at age 40.
And 347 facilities mentioned girls shouldn’t solely begin at 40, however proceed yearly.
More rigorous screening could also be applicable for some excessive danger teams, like Ashkenazi Jewish girls, who usually tend to carry mutations that put them in danger for breast and ovarian most cancers, and Black girls, who have been possible underrepresented in mammography screening trials, Dr. Marti mentioned.
Women who need assist assessing their particular person danger to make screening selections can use an online tool developed by Dr. Margaret Polaneczky, a gynecologist from Weill Cornell Medicine, and Elena Elkin, a analysis scientist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Dr. Marti instructed.
As for myself, I’ve been on a two-year plan for some time. I do common breast self-examinations, and have scientific breast exams too. So regardless that I felt a smidgen of irrational guilt after receiving the textual content messages, I politely requested a receptionist to please cease calling. I promised I’d be in contact.
