Nowadays, women whose 75 years old and over were not encouraged to get a routine of getting mammograms to screen for breast cancer. A new study suggests that woman's personal choice, health and other illness should be considered if she needs to undergo mammogram or not, and not based on age. According to data presented Monday at the Radiological Society of North America's annual conference, every woman should do the screening.
What Is Mammogram?
As describe by Medline Plus, a mammogram is an x-ray picture of the breast. It can be used to check for breast cancer in women who have no signs or symptoms of the disease. It can also be used if you have a lump or other sign of breast cancer. Screening mammography is the type of mammogram that checks you when you have no symptoms. It can help reduce the number of deaths from breast cancer among women ages 40 to 70.
Experts agree that mammograms are recommended for younger women who have symptoms of breast cancer or who have a high risk of the disease, such as those with mothers or sisters who had breast cancer. Mammograms are still needed at almost any age if a lump is found. However, the mammography recommendations also do not apply to all women, only for the average woman, according to Cancer Prevention & Treatment Fund.
Every Woman Should Undergo Mammogram
The finding of the new study is based on the cancer detection rates observed in the 5.6 million mammographies the researchers looked at as part of the National Mammography Database. "The continuing increase of cancer detection rate and positive predictive values in women between the ages of 75 and 90 does not provide evidence for age-based mammography cessation," Dr. Cindy Lee, a professor at UC-San Francisco and co-author of the research.
As reported by Business Insider, have been controversial over the years, particularly over the question of whether or not they save people's lives. And along the way, there have been a number of technological advances that have tried to make mammograms more effective at identifying tumors that could be a problem. A study published in October in the New England Journal of Medicine evaluated the drop in breast cancer mortality and the impact of new treatments versus early screenings.
The published study said, "The potential of screening to lower breast cancer mortality is reflected in the declining incidence of larger tumors. However, with respect to only these large tumors, the decline in the size-specific case fatality rate suggests that improved treatment was responsible for at least two-thirds of the reduction in breast cancer mortality." Other ways to reduce the risk of breast cancer include maintaining a healthy weight, exercising, not smoking and limiting alcohol consumption should be applied.
