New guidelines were published on 11/16/09 by the U.S. Preventive Service Task Force, a government-backed physician group, that said women 40 to 49 years of age no longer need to get annual mammograms, unless at high risk for breast cancer. The task force made these recommendations largely due to a study conducted by them which suggests that women who are at low risk for breast cancer are more likely to get false-positive tests that can lead to unnecessary biopsies and anxiety if starting mammograms before age 50.

The new guidelines have not been accepted by many health organizations such as the American Cancer Society and the Susan G. Komen for the Cure.  Both organizations strongly disagree with these new guidelines and are still recommending that women 40 to 49 get annual mammograms.

Breast cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer-related deaths among U.S. women, after lung cancer, killing 40,480 women in 2008, according to the task force report.

I too must strongly disagree with these new guidelines, and would continue to encourage women to start getting mammograms at the age of 40. Just recently, I treated a thirty-five year old female patient who requested that her physician give her a prescription for a mammogram. The mammogram was positive for a breast mass, and the breast mass biopsy returned positive for invasive breast cancer. Just imagine if she had waited until age 45 or God forbid age 50!

Furthermore, I'm very concerned that these new guidelines will confused women by the conflicting advice from health experts. Due to these new guidelines, it's more important than ever for women to talk about this issue with their health care provider, and to make very informed decisions about their breast health. A women's life depends on it!

Live well,

Dr. Jeff Brown