DAVIS, Calif. — New health screening guidelines are reminding people to get mammograms, especially as awareness is heightened for Breast Cancer Awareness Month through October.
Nearly 300,000 thousand women in the United States were diagnosed with breast cancer last year. Doctors are encouraging patients to get checked just in case.
“Your cancer should be picked up by that mammogram when it's the smallest, and it's the most treatable, and with the least aggressive treatments possible,” said Dr. Shadi Shakeri, breast radiology division chief at UC Davis Medical Center.
Women in their 40’s are recommended to start getting mammograms as they're more frequently being diagnosed with cancer. The old recommendation was to start after turning 50, but due to the increased diagnoses, the new guidelines were created.
Breast cancer affects women from all walks of life, but certain groups are impacted more than others.
“Women who are Black have a 40% more chance of dying than their white counterparts,” said Shakeri. “It becomes really, really important for Black women to be aware and start their screening at age 40 and do so every year."
Those screenings should be done in alternating years between the age of 40 and 74, but should do a risk assessment a little earlier than that.
“The American College of Radiology actually recommends that every woman by age 25, should get her risk assessment done, to know whether she needs to have additional screening or not,” said Shakeri.
For Breast Cancer Awareness Month, UC Davis is offering free mammograms for women without health insurance. Call (916) 734-6145 to schedule an appointment.
