Recommended age for Mammograms now 40

The Society of Breast Imaging and the Breast Imaging Commission of the American College of Radiology is advising that women should now start getting regular mammograms at the age of 40. This is considering that there are no added risk factors, such as a family history of breast cancer. If women are in a high-risk group, screening should begin earlier. The official release of this recommendation can be found in the Journal of the American College of Radiology.

Previously, it was recommended for women under the age of 50 to not have regular mammography screening. It was recommended to be screened every other year for women between 50 and 70-years-old, unless there were risk factors such as BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations.

Women who are at a higher risk for breast cancer are encouraged to have breast magnetic resonance imaging done, as well. This comes from the American College of Radiology and the Society of Breast Imaging.

Regular, annual screenings are important to catch breast cancer early. There is an average of 180,000 cases of breast cancer every year in the United States. It’s one of the leading causes of cancer deaths in women each year, second only to lung cancer.