New research suggests that all women turning 40 should get a breast cancer risk assessment, since half of them may have risks that are high enough to warrant annual mammograms right away.
The finding is important because the latest guidelines on mammograms advise that most women can wait until the age of 45 or 50 to start having annual screenings.
But the review of female patients between the ages of 40 and 44 found that 50 percent had an above-average risk for breast cancer, and therefore would be eligible to begin screening mammography at age 40, said lead researcher Dr. Jennifer Plichta. She’s a breast surgery fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
From our very good friends over at health. com
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