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Four Compelling Reasons to Start Annual Mammograms at Age 40

Turning 40 is a benchmark birthday for many women in the United States. While a pessimist might view it as a signal that their glory days are over, more and more women are optimistic about the milestone, seeing it as a kickoff into the best years of their lives. But one thing is true for all women: Health needs and preventive wellness routines should begin to change at age 40.

“For some women, they have health history or specific reasons to begin mammography before age 40. But for the average woman who has never had a breast screening, we recommend she begin a routine annual wellness mammogram starting at age 40,” says Stephen Rose, MD, CMO of Solis Mammography. “Simply put, women in their 40s have the most to gain from being proactive about early detection. Major studies have shown time and again that, in addition to saving lives, early detection offers greater quality of life, as treatment at earlier stages is less invasive and less costly.”

“While it’s true that breast cancer treatment has come a long way in recent years, this should in no way deter a woman from participating in the benefits of annual mammography,” adds Solis Mammography’s CEO James Polfreman. “The fact is that cell growth replicates at a faster rate in younger tissue. So, the younger you are, the more important it is to find any anomaly earlier. Research and technological advances in mammography have led to an all-time high in survival rates from breast cancer diagnosis. This tells us we’re on the right path, and annual mammography is a key part of that success story.”

The following are compelling reasons to begin annual mammograms at age 40:

• The numbers. According to the American Cancer Society, 20% of all breast cancers are found in women younger than 50. If the cancer is found early, in what is known as stage zero or stage one, the five-year survival rate is nearly 100%. Simply stated, early detection is the closest thing to a cure, and mastectomies are no longer the first line of defense.

• Women in their 40s have the most to gain. “Today’s high-quality screenings benefit 40-year-old women the most,” according to Rose, a radiologist with more than 25 years in the field of breast screening specialization, who has been involved in several published national studies. “Advancements like 3D mammography (digital breast tomosynthesis) and breast specialization have a significant impact on the quality of the mammography result.”

• Women can take charge of their health. Conflicting recommendations from some nonphysician-led organizations have suggested that a “reasonable trade-off” to the “fear, anxiety, and stress” of a “false positive” (otherwise known as a recall for additional images) is to delay annual screenings for five to 10 critical years. This advice does not suggest an alternative to mammography; it only suggests that screenings be ignored entirely. The studies and clinical evidence, however, are clear. Early detection provides women with the greatest opportunity for long-term survival and quality of life through the least invasive treatment when caught at the earliest possible stage.

• Treatment is an option; knowledge is not. Instead of focusing on overdiagnosis as the problem, the real question at hand is overtreatment. With the advancement of medicine and less invasive treatments, women have more options for success. In some cases, patients may opt not to treat at all, electing to monitor changes over time. These are discussions a woman can and should have with her doctor after getting all the facts. Avoiding the facts is not a solution.

Pea vs Walnut: Why Mammograms Help With Early Detection
When considering why early detection is so important, Rose suggests thinking of a pea vs a walnut. The average size of a lump found in a woman who gets regular annual mammograms is the size of a pea. The size of a lump found by a woman who does only occasional self-exams is the size of a walnut.

“Imagine the difference in treating the pea vs the walnut. It’s the pea that gives us our best options for treatment,” Rose says. “Put simply, the larger the lump, the more invasive and costly the treatment options become and the more risk that is associated with long-term outcomes.”

— Source: Solis Mammography