Breast Cancer: Mammograms Are Essential For Women Over 40

As October marks Breast Cancer Awareness month, it's important to remember how much preventative screenings play a role in the treatment of breast cancer.

The American College of Radiology (ACR), Society of Breast Imaging (SBI) and other major medical organizations currently recommend that women start getting annual mammograms at the age of 40 as an estimated 1 in 8 women will develop an invasive form over the course of their lifetime.

Chair of the American College of Radiology Breast Imaging Commission, Debra Monticciolo, MD, FACR, notes that risk based screening is a poor technique in diagnosing breast cancer that tends to run in families, adding that close to 75 percent of women who will be diagnosed with breast cancer will not have a family history of the health problem or other high risk factors for the disease.
However, it's important to consider risks for the health issue, ranging from a family history of breast cancer to diet, being overweight and/or alcohol consumption. (For more information regarding other risks, visit their website, here.)

Fortunately, getting the proper screenings can help treat the issue in many cases. Though the National Cancer Institute notes that in 2015 alone, 231,340 women will be diagnosed with the disease, while 40,290 will die from it, many of the deaths could have been prevented if women had been regularly screened before the cancer progressed to a later stage.

"Mammography screening is not perfect but has been shown to markedly reduce the number of women each year who die from breast cancer," said Elizabeth Morris, MD, FACR, president of the Society of Breast Imaging, in a news release. "The decision whether or not to get a mammogram remains with women. We want them to know that mammography can detect cancer early -- when it's most treatable and can be treated less invasively -- which not only saves lives but helps preserve quality of life."