GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — New guidance lowers the age in which women should start screening for breast cancer.
Now, the United States Preventative Services Taskforce (USPSTF) says all women should have a screening every other year starting at 40 years old.
Previously, the recommendation was to start getting mammograms at 50 years old.
Women under 40 should talk with their doctor to decide if they should start screenings sooner.
The taskforce believes that lowering the age by a decade will save 19 percent more lives.
USPSTF also highlighted a major racial inequity— Black women are 40 percent more likely to die of breast cancer than white women.
Dr. Jessica Thompson with Corewell Health believes the cancer community needs to dedicate more research and resources to that statistic.
“Part of what we know is that it may be related to tumor biology, that Black women are more susceptible to developing breast cancers that are just biologically more aggressive,” Dr. Thompson said. “Part of it is also access to resources, access to mammograms, access to physicians and medical care and having consistent follow up with a regular family doctor.”
Dr. Thompson adds that family history can be another indicator of breast cancer risk factors and anyone who has had radiation before for other treatments could also be at a higher risk.
Breast cancer is the second most common cancer and the second most common cause of cancer death for women in the U.S.
