Mammogram?

[Erudite]

My Dad sent me this article on how a task force studying breast cancer has changed the recommended frequency and start date of mammograms to every other year starting at age 50 rather than 40.

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Mammograms were not something I was looking forward to, so I'm glad to put it off another ten years and since I know many of us are about to hit 40, I thought this would be relevant to you too.

Please note that the article says that you should still have them every year starting at 40 if you have multiple risk factors...though it doesn't outline exactly what those are. Hopefully you know if it applies to you already.

[natickgirl]

I find it somewhat disturbing that they are pushing the initial "baseline" mammogram age back to 50! Thousands of women are diagnosed with breast cancer every year, and I have personally known women & known of women who developed cancer in their 20's or 30's, even with no family history. My grandmother was one of them...she died of breast cancer at age 36. Women with a family history of breast cancer are encouraged to begin mammograms at age 30, with the general population starting at age 40. I'd check with your personal doctor before pushing it back another 10 years.

Just my opinion. When it comes to health, I'd rather not risk it.

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Here's a link to a Deseret News article about it:

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Here's one from New York (Associated Press?)
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[natickgirl]

I just came across this article on deseretnews.com:

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[5ft Diva]

I just hope that these "guidelines" aren't standards for health care. I might not need to go in every year, but would like the option to do so.

It does sound like they're (although, THEY, to me, is not entirely known) trying to figure out where to cut back on spending in the health industry. Strange place to start, though... (Not to say that that this is the only area in health care that's been looked at and reevaluated. Just the concept over all doesn't make a lot of sense - disorganized is what comes to mind.)