Do I Need a Mammogram Before I Turn 45? YES.

Recently unveiled guidelines from the American Cancer Society have increased confusion about screening mammography protocol. DenseBreast-info.org’s Chief Scientific Advisor and breast imaging expert, Dr. Wendie Berg, weighs in. The organization has developed a simple one page fact sheet that addresses:

Do I Need a Mammogram Before I Turn 45?  YES.

• The entire reason we screen for breast cancer is to find it EARLY, when most treatable and survivable.
• Breast cancer is the number one cause of death in women aged 35 to 54 years.
• Mammography has been proven to reduce deaths due to breast cancer in women screened beginning at age 40.   
• 25% of all years of life lost to breast cancer occur in women diagnosed before the age of 45.
• Women at “high risk” for breast cancer due to known or suspected disease-causing mutation (such as BRCA1 or BRCA2) should begin screening at least by age 30, to include MRI.

What About False Alarms (known as “False Positives”)?

• About 10% of women having a screening mammogram will be called back (recalled) for extra testing or views.  THIS IS NORMAL.  Among women called back, 95% do not have cancer.  If a needle biopsy is necessary, even that is a simple test not much different from a dental filling.
• Newer techniques such as 3D-mammograms are more able to see cancer and there is less need for recall for extra testing. 

What About Screening in Dense Breasts?

• Younger women are more likely to have dense breast tissue, which can hide cancer on mammography. 
• In women who have breasts categorized as “dense”  (heterogeneously dense or extremely dense), adding screening ultrasound after a mammogram can help find more breast cancers.  Because ultrasound detects more, there is more to check and ultrasound does also increase the chance of needing a needle biopsy to determine if something detected is cancerous.  For more information on breast cancer screening, dense breasts and risk factors, please visit www.DenseBreast-info.org.

Is it Covered?

• Insurance is required in nearly all states to cover the full cost of screening mammography. If requested by a health care provider, additional screening with ultrasound, or MRI is generally covered by insurance after a deductible/co-pay, though pre-authorization may be needed for MRI. 
• Diagnostic mammography is performed to evaluate abnormalities on screening or when a woman has signs or symptoms of breast cancer. A deductible/co-pay will typically apply for diagnostic mammography.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE NEW AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY GUIDELINES AND DENSE BREASTS: AN INTERVIEW WITH RADIOLOGICAL EXPERT, DR. WENDIE BERG

 (c) 2015, DenseBreast-info, Inc.