Shifting Best Practices For Breast Cancer Screenings Confuse Even Physicians
With changing federal guidelines, patients and doctors must now navigate conflicting advice over what's best for a woman's overall health.
Santa Rosa Press Democrat:
New Screening Guidelines For Breast Cancer Prevention Fuel Debate Over Mammograms
For decades, enduring a mammogram was a rite of passage for women turning 40. Absent symptoms or genetics that would trigger screening at an earlier age, women knew reaching the four-decade mark meant they’d soon face getting squeezed in a machine for their own good. But evolving recommendations from the American Cancer Society and from an influential federal task force on preventive medicine now hold that it’s better to wait until age 45 or even 50 to start having routine mammograms. (Callahan, 10/1)
Meanwhile, clinics in the Sacramento area are offering free screenings —
Sacramento Bee:
Sacramento-Area Clinics Offer Free Breast Cancer Screenings
National Breast Cancer Awareness Month [started] Saturday, and clinics around Sacramento will be offering free breast cancer screenings to promote early detection of the disease. A mammography screening can help reduce the likelihood of death from breast cancer among women ages 40 to 74, especially for those older than 50, according to the National Cancer Institute. (Caiola, 9/30)