"Of those who were referred for their first screening mammogram, one-third opted out. Among these nonparticipants, there was a tendency to skip other future mammograms and the group was overall more likely to have breast cancer diagnosed in advanced stages - a 1.5 times greater chance of having stage 3, and 3.6 times greater chance of having stage 4, to be exact - compared to women who did attend their first mammogram on time."
"The American Cancer Society recommends that women have their first mammogram between the ages of 40 and 44, and by the age of 45, they should be getting one annually. Those who are 55 and older can switch to getting a mammogram every other year if they choose. Women who have a higher than average breast cancer risk should begin getting a mammogram and breast MRI each year starting at age 30."
"We all know mammograms are important, just like all the other routine screenings we're supposed to do - from those biannual teeth cleanings to pap smears and just regular old physicals once a year. But when you're a busy mom with kids and a job and maybe even a hobby or two, well, time is hard to come by, and it's easy to push off our health appointments until later "when we have time.""
Annual and age-based mammography guidelines recommend first screening between ages 40 and 44, annual screenings by 45, biennial options after 55, and annual mammogram plus breast MRI from age 30 for higher-risk women. A 25-year Swedish cohort of over 430,000 women found one-third of those referred for a first screening mammogram did not attend. Nonparticipants were more likely to skip subsequent mammograms and exhibited higher rates of advanced breast cancer, with 1.5-fold greater odds of stage 3 and 3.6-fold greater odds of stage 4 diagnoses compared to timely attendees. Failure to attend the first screening serves as an early indicator of long-term nonattendance, increasing risk of late-stage detection.
Read at Scary Mommy
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