Confused About Mammography Screening Guidelines?

You've probably heard a lot of different opinions recently regarding how early, and how often, women should get mammograms.

Evergreen's breast cancer experts stress that early detection leads to the best outcomes, and they recommend women continue to follow the American Cancer Society's guidelines, which include:

• Breast self-exam starting in their 20s; women should report any breast change promptly to their health care provider.
• Clinical breast exam as part of a periodic health exam, about every three years for women in their 20s and 30s and annually for women 40 and older.
• Yearly mammograms starting at age 40.
• Women at high risk (personal or familial history of breast cancer) should get a mammogram and a breast MRI every year.

Evergreen Hospital continues to recommend annual screening using mammography and clinical breast examination for all women beginning at age 40. While mammograms have known limitations, studies have shown their use to be associated with improvements in survival for women ages 40 to 74. The American Cancer Society agrees: The benefits of screening women beginning at age 40 outweigh its limitations.

The care team at Evergreen remains committed to offering the gold standard for breast cancer screening, and looks forward to making sure that members of our community have access to the best technology available. We encourage women to be aware of their breast health, understand their risks, and continue to follow existing recommendations for routine screenings including mammography beginning at age 40.

We firmly believe that our outstanding results at Evergreen begin with early detection.