Published on April 12, 2019
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media contact: Hayley Cooke
Hayley.Cooke@preventcancer.org
703-837-3692
Alexandria, Va. — The American College of Physicians (ACP) recently announced new breast cancer screening guidelines, which echo the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommendation that women ages 50-74 who are of average risk for breast cancer should receive mammograms every other year. The guidelines say women between the ages of 40-49 should talk with their doctors about their personal preference for when to begin mammograms.
The Prevent Cancer Foundation® continues to oppose these guidelines and encourages women of average risk to begin annual breast cancer screening at age 40 to have the best chance of detecting cancer early, when successful treatment is more likely.
Approximately 40,000 women in the U.S. die from breast cancer each year. Medical experts agree that mammograms save lives. The American College of Radiology (ACR) notes that the guidelines may result in up to 10,000 additional breast cancer deaths in the United States. That’s why the Prevent Cancer Foundation®, the Society of Breast Imaging, ACR and others are against these guidelines.
“The Prevent Cancer Foundation® and many other health care organizations agree that the benefits of screening all women for breast cancer starting at age 40 far outweigh the harms,” said Carolyn Aldigé, Founder and CEO of the Prevent Cancer Foundation®.
If diagnosed early and treated before it spreads, the five-year survival rate for breast cancer is 99 percent. Getting screened every year is critical for early detection of breast cancer.
If you are at increased risk for breast cancer, talk to your doctor—you may need to be screened earlier or more often.
